https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-01-08-the-banker-bros-who-bankrupted-mozambique/
“I agree with you that any monies can only be paid after the project signing,” the unnamed accused told Boustani via email on 14 November 2011.
“This has to be treated separately from the project implementation… Because for the project implementation there will be other players whose interest will have to be looked after e.g. ministry of defense, ministry of interior, air force, etc, … in democratic governments like ours people come and go, and everyone involved will want to have his/her share of the deal while in office, because once out of the office it will be difficult.”
“I have consulted and please put 50 million chickens. Whatever numbers you have on your poultry I will add 50 million of my breed,” they told Boustani.
Although the wording was obscure, the message was clear, according to US investigators: $50-million would need to be paid to Mozambican officials for the project to go ahead.
According to the US investigators, the payment of bribes became so common that spreadsheets were drawn up accounting for the estimated $125-million that Boustani had either paid or promised to officials and fixers involved in the project
One may be wondering at this point why international investors were willing to loan $2-billion to newly-established state companies in Mozambique with no immediate prospects of repayment.
In each of the three cases – ProIndicus, Ematum and MAM – the banks were only willing to facilitate the loans if the Mozambican government provided guarantees. Chang, as minister of finance, signed off on all three.
In return, US investigators allege that Chang received $5-million transferred into a bank account in Spain for his benefit.
And he was not alone. According to the indictment:
- Mozambican co-conspirator 1, identified as someone “involved in obtaining the government’s approval for the Proindicus project”, received at least $85-million;
- Mozambican co-conspirator 2, identified as a relative of a senior official in Mozambique, received at least $9.7-million; and
- Mozambican co-conspirator 3, identified as a senior official in Mozambique’s ministry of finance, received at least $2-million.
At the time the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was working with the Mozambican government to rehabilitate the economy. When the $2-billion scandal spilled out into the open, the IMF suspended all financial aid. Mozambique’s GDP to debt ratio – which was on par with South Africa’s in 2011 – reached a completely unsustainable 138%.
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