The son of former Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, Armando Ndambi Guebuza, has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on Wednesday for his role in a $2 billion ‘hidden debt’ corruption and fraud incident that allegedly crashed the country’s economy.
Ndambi Guebuza, was found guilty of the crime alongside 10 other accused on charges related to money laundering, bribery and blackmail, while eight were acquitted by the court.
Other accomplices in the fraud including two top intelligence officials were handed sentences of between 10 and 12 years.
Maputo City Court Judge, Judtice Efigenio Baptista, who delivered the judgement, said the ex-President’s son was not “remorseful in committing the crime which saw hundreds of millions of dollars in government-supported loans vanish.”
“Armando Ndambi Guebuza showed no remorse for committing the crime and he maintains that he has been targeted for political reasons,” Judge Baptista said.
“Ndambi still does not reckon that he wrongfully benefited from $33 million that the Mozambican people badly need,” he added.
The two former top intelligence officials, General Director Gregorio Leao and Head of the Economic Unit, Antonio Carlos do Rosario, were each sentenced to 12 years in prison, with Justice Baptista saying they, by their actions, helped impoverish Mozambique’s people.
“The defendants tarnished the good image of the country abroad and in the international markets, with enduring and hard-to-repair effects,” Baptista said.
The fraud which was committed in 2016, saw Mozambique unable to meet up its repayment plans to donors like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the scandal stimulating the IMF and other donors to reduce support, causing a currency collapse and debt default.
An independent audit discovered in 2017 that the government had failed to explain how funds were expended and that approximately a quarter of the money was unaccounted for, with much of the money raised for a fishing project diverted through kickbacks to bankers and Mozambique officials.