A Mozambique court remanded in custody
on Monday the son of a former president,
his lawyer said, following his arrest in a
crackdown on a $2-billion government debt
scandal.
Ndambi Guebuza, the oldest of Armando
Guebuza’s four children, was picked up
from his home in the capital Maputo at the
weekend.
He was arrested in connection with
government borrowing which plunged the
country into its worst ever financial crisis.
Analysts say the scandal could hurt
Guebuza’s party, the ruling Frelimo, at
elections later this year.
“The objective is to sacrifice the Guebuza
family because of the elections,†said
Ndambi Guebuza, according to his lawyer
Alexandre Chivale.
The lawyer added that his client was
remanded in custody after the closed-door
hearing in Maputo.
Authorities last week arrested seven other
suspects, including businessmen and
intelligence officials, in connection with the
debt scandal.
The scandal came to light in 2016, a year
after ex-leader Guebuza left office
following 10 years in power.
It is alleged that while he was still in office,
the government in Maputo took out loans
amounting to $2 billion to buy a tuna-
fishing fleet and surveillance ships, but hid
the transaction from parliament and
international donors.
An independent audit found that a quarter
of the loan amount was diverted, and
unaccounted for.
When the debt was revealed, Mozambique
— one of the world’s poorest countries
which relies on donor aid — was plunged
into crisis as donors froze contributions.
The United States alleges at least $200
million was spent on bribes and kickbacks,
including $12 million for former finance
minister Manuel Chang, who allegedly
signed off the debt.
Chang, 63, was arrested at Johannesburg’s
O.R. Tambo International Airport on
December 29 on a US extradition request
over his alleged involvement in the
fraudulent loans to state firms. He was
denied bail on Thursday.
Businessman Ndambi Guebuza is alleged to
have received $9.7 million in bribes,
according to a US indictment.
Domingos de Rosario, professor of political
science at Eduardo Mondlane University,
said the arrests could create divisions in
the ruling Frelimo party as it heads into
elections later this year.
“Frelimo is already in a bad way,†he said,
warning of possible “serious electoral
consequencesâ€.
Source:
www.channelstv.com/2019/02/18/
son-of-mozambiques-ex-president-
remanded-for-graft/
