Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskNdambi Guebuza is one of 19 high-profile defendants on trial in Maputo on charges including bribery, embezzlement and money-laundering . The accusations relate to a series of deals in 2013 and 2014 which saw state-backed firms borrow more than $2bn, mostly in secret.
One of those cases is the trial in Maputo, held in a marquee at a maximum-security prison and broadcast on national television. The hearing wrapped up last month, with a verdict expected in August. Between legal minutiae, it offered a lurid glimpse into the lives of Mozambique’s super-rich, and allegations of how they splurged ill-gotten gains on posh flats and fleets of sports cars.
In February the former president, Mr Guebuza, took the stand—as a witness, not a defendant—and used the opportunity to make a subtle dig at his successor, Filipe Nyusi. It was “strange”, he said, that Mr Nyusi claimed to know nothing about how the corrupt deals were made, despite having been defence minister at the time. That is a sign of how politicised the issue has become, as rival factions jostle for influence within Frelimo, the ruling party.
It would not be the first American intervention. Three former Credit Suisse bankers who cooked up the loans have pleaded guilty to related charges in a New York courtroom. Last October the bank itself agreed to pay $475m to regulators in America and Britain for misleading investors and violating anti-corruption laws.
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