Hidden debts: Mozambicans received spurious work visas to the Emirates

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Hidden debts: Mozambicans received spurious work visas to the Emirates

3:42 CAT | 21 Jan 2019

in file CoM

The United States Attorney investigating the ‘hidden debts’ case says that “Proindicus, Ematum and MAM were simply front companies used to enrich and pay bribes”.

Three Mozambican suspects in the case of hidden debts received false work permits in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2012, with the help of the Lebanese citizen Jean Boustani, who worked for the Abu Dhabi-based group Privinvest.

The allegation is contained in a letter from United States prosecutors working on the case and sent to the principal judge on January 16 to counter Jean Boustani’s request for house arrest at a high-security residence in New York.

According to the same source, the UAE work permits were e-mailed by Jean Boustani to Mozambican co-conspirators on January 2, 2012, as alleged Privinvest workers and describing them variously as “oil machine mechanic”, “gasoline engine mechanic” and “hydraulic mechanic”.

According to the indictment, Boustani also arranged UAE residence permits for two of the other defendants: Andrew Pearse (a New Zealand national, executive director of Credit Suisse bank) and Detelina Subeva (Bulgarian national, vice president of the Credit Suisse Global Financial Group).

Mozambicans bribed

The document also indicates that US$200 million (EUR 175 million) were paid in bribes and kickbacks to Mozambican government officials and that Jean Boustani himself came out of the scheme US$15 million (EUR 13.1 million dollars) richer.

“In order to activate and promote the scheme, the accused and his co-conspirators created three entities in Mozambique owned and controlled by the Mozambican state whose apparent purpose was to obtain loans for funds for the three maritime projects: Proindicus, the Mozambican Tuna Company (Ematum) and Mozambique Asset Management (MAM),” the document alleges.

The loans were made through Credit Suisse in the international bond markets and were financed by international investors. “In fact, Proindicus, Ematum and MAM were simply front companies used by the defendant and other members of the conspiracy to enrich and pay bribes and kickbacks,” the January 16 document declares.

Payments included US$150 million (€ 135 million) for “corrupt officials of the Mozambican government” and more than US$50 million for investment bankers who made the loans possible.

A Mozambican co-conspirator asked Jean Boustani in writing for an amount of “50 million chickens” in December 2011 in order to obtain the endorsement of senior government officials, to which the accused responded with “LOLLLLL. I love your chicken brother. Done”. According to the indictment, that sum of US$50 million dollars (EUR 43.9 million) was transferred, years later, to a number of Mozambican government officials.

Prosecutors also describe the involvement of former finance minister Manuel Chang, whose hearing in South Africa was postponed until 5 February. Manuel Chang, nicknamed ‘Chopstick’, signed, on the margins of the government, the necessary authorizations for the loans to the three Mozambican state-owned enterprises, and received US$5 million (EUR 4.4 million) between October 20, 2012 and December 4, 2013.

Those involved in the scheme received money hidden in fake invoices, or using other names to mask the true beneficiaries. US prosecutors indicate that Jean Boustani had applied for invoices on behalf of Logistics International Abu Dhabi.

Jean Boustani ordered the transfers to his company, Privinvest, by email. Payments that were sent to bank accounts located in the United Arab Emirates and the United States, leading to the opening of the case in a New York court .

The full indictment is that “after doing little or no commercial activity in May 2016 and March 2017, Proindicus, Ematum and MAM did not pay debts exceeding US$700 million (EUR 615 million)”.

In addition to Jean Boustani, the four people already detained await extradition decisions for the United States: Andrew Pearse, Detelina Subeva and Surjan Singh are awaiting parole in the United Kingdom, while Manuel Chang is detained in South Africa with extradition requests for the United States and for Mozambique. Three of the accused are still in detention, at least two of whom were former Mozambican government officials.

Source: DW