‘Hidden debts’: Former Bank of Mozambique governor named a suspect

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‘Hidden debts’: Former Bank of Mozambique governor named a suspect

1:29 CAT | 15 Apr 2019

File photo: DW

Former governor of the Bank of Mozambique Ernesto Gove has been declared an ‘arguido’ [officially named suspect] in the judicial case on the so-called hidden debts, because he headed one of the entities which authorised the loans, according to the national press.

The Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office decided to name Ernesto Gove as a suspect following a recent hearing of the former banker, according to weekly newspaper ‘Savana’, while the Mozambican website ‘A Carta’ reported on Friday (12.04) that Gove had appointed well-known Mozambican lawyer Albano Silva to defend him.

The Attorney General of the Republic of Mozambique (PGR) announced on March 22 that 28 persons had been indicted in the hidden debts case, with indictments against 20 of them sent to court.

Ten of the suspects were subject to coercive measures, with nine detained and one awaiting trial on bail.

List of 20 ‘arguidos’

The 20 suspects whose indictment was referred to the court are charged with passive corruption in an illicit act, embezzlement, money laundering, association to commit a crime, abuse of trust and blackmail.

The case is connected to the provision of guarantees of more than two billion dollars by the previous Mozambican government in favour of three state companies related to maritime safety and fishing without the knowledge of the Assembly of the Republic or the Administrative Court.

A US court considers that part of the money was used to pay bribes to Mozambican state functionaries and international bankers.

Among the detainees are Ndambi Guebuza, son of former Mozambican president Armando Guebuza, and the former private secretary of former head of state Inês Moiane, along with former leaders of the Mozambican intelligence services.

On Monday (08.04), a South African court declared former Mozambican Finance Minister Manuel Chang extraditable to either Mozambique or the United States for his role in the hidden debts affair. Chang has been detained in South Africa since December 29 at the request of US justice organs, which want the former minister extradited there.

Source: Deutsche Welle