A US federal court has rejected former Mozambican Finance Minister Manuel Chang’s bid for early release, ensuring the 70-year-old will serve out his eight-and-a-half-year sentence for orchestrating the country’s devastating $2 billion “hidden debts” corruption scheme.
Chang, who cited kidney problems, hypertension, and diabetes in his clemency request, argued he posed no risk of reoffending after completing over 80% of his term. The court’s decision means he will remain imprisoned until approximately late March 2026 with good behaviour credits, followed by likely deportation to Mozambique, where additional charges may await.
The ruling marks the latest development in a case that has exposed one of Africa’s most consequential financial frauds, crippling Mozambique’s economy and eroding international donor confidence for nearly a decade.
Web of Secret Loans and Bribes
A New York jury convicted Chang in August 2024 on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering after prosecutors demonstrated his central role in securing $2 billion in secret government-guaranteed loans between 2013 and 2014. The financing, arranged through Credit Suisse and Russian shipbuilder Privinvest, ostensibly funded maritime security projects through three state-linked companies: Proindicus, Ematum, and MAM.
Instead, more than $200 million was siphoned into bribes and kickbacks, with Chang allegedly pocketing $7 million personally. The loans were deliberately concealed from parliament, citizens, and international donors, including the International Monetary Fund, violating Mozambique’s constitutional requirements and loan agreements.
When the scandal surfaced in 2016, the revelations triggered immediate suspension of international aid, currency collapse, and a financial crisis that continues to hamper the impoverished nation’s development. Judge Nicholas Garaufis emphasised at sentencing in January 2025 that Chang had betrayed not only investors but “his nation’s future and the trust of its people.”
Years-Long Extradition Battle
Chang’s path to a US courtroom stretched nearly five years from his December 2018 arrest at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. Detained on a US provisional warrant while travelling to Dubai, he became the subject of competing extradition requests from both American prosecutors and Mozambican authorities.
South African courts initially favored Mozambique’s request in 2019, but the Pretoria High Court reversed that decision in August 2021, ruling the US had stronger jurisdiction given American investor losses. Chang exhausted appeals before his July 2023 extradition to face trial in Brooklyn federal court.
The conviction and denial of early release underscore US commitment to prosecuting international corruption cases that harm American financial interests, even when defendants are foreign officials operating abroad. Chang received credit for six years of pretrial custody served in South African and US facilities.
Following his release, Immigration and Customs Enforcement procedures will initiate deportation as standard protocol for non-citizens convicted of serious crimes, returning him to a country where prosecutors may pursue additional domestic charges related to the same scheme.
