Final Verdict: Manuel Chang convicted by U.S. justice

After 22 days of a grueling legal battle, the jury concluded that Chang is guilty of at least two crimes: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. However, he was acquitted of the charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

The American sentence proves that Chang, while serving as a government official, committed acts of corruption that significantly harmed the Mozambican people and tarnished the country's reputation in major international financial markets.

"Today's verdict is an inspiring victory for justice and for the people of Mozambique, who were betrayed by a high-level corrupt public official whose greed and self-interest sold out one of the poorest countries in the world," stated Breaon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

This outcome undermines the belief of some pro-government analysts who speculated that Chang might be acquitted, as was the case with the Lebanese Jean Boustani, considered the mastermind behind Mozambique's hidden debts scandal. Boustani was acquitted of all charges by the U.S.

Unlike Boustani, who was accused of conspiracy to defraud investors, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, Chang's fate is different, and he now faces a yet-to-be-announced sentence from the U.S. jury.

In previous articles published by TORRE.news, attorney Elísio de Sousa, known for defending the regime, argued that the chances of the Mozambican defendant being acquitted in the U.S. were higher, claiming that the local judicial system lacked jurisdiction to convict Chang.

The Mozambican government has yet to react to the U.S. sentence, but TORRE.news has learned that the executive's expectations have been completely dashed, as the Public Prosecutor's Office has consistently expressed its desire to see Chang tried on Mozambican soil, where he is expected to face an autonomous trial related to the hidden debts.

Just weeks ago, the government "celebrated" Mozambique's victory in a $3.1 billion lawsuit in the High Court of Justice in England and Wales, connected to the hidden debts case involving Privinvest, a European shipbuilding group based in Abu Dhabi.

The ruling, delivered in London by Judge Robin Knowles of the London Commercial Court, is considered to have substantial implications for Mozambique's financial landscape.

Reacting to the favorable ruling, the government, through Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Amílcar Tivane, explained that the decision by the London Commercial Court was the result of a strategy conceived by Mozambican authorities in their quest for a viable solution to reduce the impact of the hidden debts on the country's economy.

"The result we have the opportunity to share today, in some way, reflects or aligns with the strategy that was designed from the beginning. Therefore, since the Republic of Mozambique began the process of seeking a solution to mitigate the risk of the country's exposure to these debts," Tivane said.

In the same vein, the Governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, publicly stated that Manuel Chang had returned seven million dollars received as bribes in connection with the hidden debts.