MOZAMBIQUE · COURTS
Key Facts
- Why it matters A US$2 billion loan scandal weighs on Mozambique’s debt, gas projects and International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks.
- Why now On 21 October 2026 a London court kept alive Mozambique’s claim against the widow of shipbuilder Privinvest’s founder.
- What happened A US judge gave Mozambique’s ex-finance minister Manuel Chang 102 months; he was deported on 5 April 2026.
- What it means for you Holders of Mozambique’s 2031 dollar bond wait for an IMF deal the government wants by year-end.
- Still open Whether Mozambique will try Chang again is undecided, and no trial date is public.
In Plain English
The hidden debt scandal is more than US$2 billion in loans that the Swiss bank Credit Suisse and Russia’s VTB bank arranged in 2013 and 2014 for three Mozambican state companies. Privinvest, a shipbuilder based in the United Arab Emirates, supplied the boats, and Chang signed the government guarantees behind the loans.
Manuel Chang, the former finance minister of Mozambique, was extradited to the United States in July 2023, sentenced to 102 months in prison and deported to Maputo on Sunday 5 April 2026. Reports of more than 40 years in prison, made at his December 2018 arrest, are long out of date.
The scandal still shadows Mozambique’s debt and its talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while gas projects carry the country’s hopes for growth. On Wednesday 21 October 2026 the Court of Appeal in London kept alive Mozambique’s civil claim against the widow of the founder of the shipbuilder Privinvest.
What Happened to Chang
South Africa arrested Chang in December 2018 on a US warrant, and he was extradited to New York in July 2023 after South Africa’s Constitutional Court dismissed a new Mozambican appeal. A federal jury convicted him on Thursday 8 August 2024 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
On Friday 17 January 2025 Judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced him in federal court in Brooklyn to 102 months and ordered him to forfeit US$7 million, the sum prosecutors said he took in bribes for signing the loan guarantees. Chang pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argued at trial that he signed on his government’s instructions.
In February 2026 the judge refused him early release on health grounds, and the Bureau of Prisons ended its custody on Thursday 26 March 2026, about 14 months after sentencing. A flight via Lisbon failed because, his lawyers told the court, Portugal had not approved his travel document, and US immigration officers kept him in custody until he was flown to Maputo, where he landed on Sunday 5 April 2026.
What Changed in London This Month
On Wednesday 21 October 2026 the Court of Appeal, in a judgment by Lord Justice Miles, dismissed an appeal by Clara Martinez Thedy de Safa, widow of Privinvest founder Iskandar Safa, against being added as a defendant, so Mozambique’s claim can proceed against her as his heir. Her sons’ appeals succeeded by agreement after a Lebanese court confirmed they had renounced their inheritance.
The claim rests on a July 2024 High Court judgment that found Safa and Privinvest made payments and promises to Chang meant to make him sign the guarantees. It put Mozambique’s entitlement at about US$825 million plus an indemnity estimated at US$1.5 billion, before credits the judge allowed, and a December 2024 order required the Privinvest companies to pay about US$534 million plus interest.
Why It Matters
The US Justice Department said the loans were sold to investors worldwide, including in the United States, and Credit Suisse admitted in October 2021 to defrauding investors in the US$850 million EMATUM loan and paid about US$475 million. The three borrowers defaulted and missed more than US$700 million in payments.
The IMF’s February 2026 staff report assesses Mozambique’s public debt as unsustainable, at about 91% of economic output at the end of 2025. The government asked for a new programme in May 2025, and the officials who run the economy are still negotiating it.
In Their Words
“My Office will continue to pursue those who violate our laws and harm U.S. investors regardless of their power, position or title.”
Carolyn Pokorny, then Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in the Justice Department release on the sentencing, 17 January 2025
Mozambique’s Own Case
Mozambique’s Prosecutor-General, Américo Letela, told parliament on Thursday 23 April 2026 that his office had asked US authorities for a certified copy of the sentence and was still waiting. He said the sentence will go to the Maputo judge handling the case, who will decide whether the matter has already been judged, since a person cannot be tried twice for the same facts.
In April 2025 he said the Mozambican case over the loans had not been shelved. It was then still before the 10th section of the Maputo City Judicial Court.
What It Means for You
Holders of Mozambique’s 2031 dollar bond are waiting on the IMF, because President Daniel Chapo said in January 2026 that creditor talks would start only after an IMF agreement. The government aims for a staff-level deal and board approval by the end of 2026, with a second IMF mission due in November.
ExxonMobil, the US company leading the Rovuma LNG gas project, announced on Monday 17 August 2026 that it and its partners had awarded US$1.1 billion in pre-investment contracts, and a final investment decision had not been announced by 30 October 2026. IMF figures show that Mozambique repaid its entire IMF debt, about US$630 million, in March 2026.
What Is Not Known
No Mozambican court has published a trial date, and it is not known whether the Maputo judge will treat the US conviction as final. The prosecutor-general was still waiting for the US sentence on 23 April 2026, and no later public update is available.
No official source has said whether Chang is free or under any restriction in Mozambique. How much Mozambique can collect from the Safa family is also open, since under Lebanese law an heir owes debts only up to the value inherited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Manuel Chang still in a US prison?
Chang left federal prison custody on 26 March 2026. He was deported to Maputo, where he arrived on Sunday 5 April 2026.
How long was Manuel Chang’s US sentence?
A US judge sentenced him on 17 January 2025 to 102 months for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Credit for time served and good conduct let him leave prison about 14 months later.
Will Chang be tried in Mozambique?
No court has decided yet. Mozambique’s prosecutor-general said on 23 April 2026 that a Maputo judge will decide whether the US conviction bars a second trial on the same facts.
What does the hidden debt case mean for US investors?
The loans were sold to investors worldwide, including in the United States, and the IMF assesses Mozambique’s public debt as unsustainable. Holders of its 2031 dollar bond are waiting for a new IMF programme before any debt talks.
Sources: US Department of Justice, Eastern District of New York, verdict release, 8 August 2024; US Department of Justice, sentencing release, 17 January 2025; Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Mozambique v Safa, [2026] EWCA Civ 1349, 21 October 2026; High Court of England and Wales, Mozambique v Credit Suisse International and others, [2024] EWHC 1957 (Comm), 29 July 2024; International Monetary Fund, Mozambique 2025 Article IV staff report, published 19 February 2026; ExxonMobil Mozambique, Rovuma LNG page, contract release of 17 August 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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