U.S. Charges Ex-Bankers With Fraud
Following the arrest of former Mozambique Finance Minister Manuel Chang in South Africa five days ago, three former Credit Suisse bankers have been arrested in London over their involvement in a fraud scheme.
Three former Credit Suisse Group employees – managing director Andrew Pearse, 49; global financing group managing director Surjan Singh, 44; and global financing group vice president Detelina Subeva, 37 – were arrested in London on Thursday after being charged in an indictment in a Brooklyn federal court over their inolvement in a US$2 billion fraud scheme, Reuters reported Friday.
According to the indictment, between 2013 and 2016, Pearse, Singh and Subeva used three state-owned companies in Mozambique, which borrowed more than $2 billion in government-backed loans to engage in maritime projects and coastal protection, to enrich themselves and their associates. Reuters reported. The bankers «created the maritime projects as fronts to enrich themselves and intentionally diverted portions of the loan proceeds,» which amounted to over $200 million in bribes and kickbacks.
While the loans were arrangeed by Credit Suisse and another unnamed bank, which received fees for their services, they were not named as defandants.
The three, currently out on bail, face extradition to the U.S. Their arrest follows the December 29 arrest of Mozambique's ex-finance chief Manuel Chang in South Africa, who was named a defendant in the indictment. The indictment charges four counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the Financial Times. Mr Chang was not charged with the FCPA violation.
Lebanese national Jean Boustani, who worked for an Abu Dhabi-based contractor for the Mozambique companies, was also charged with three counts of conspiracy and arrested on Wednesday at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
