Maputo, Mozambique, March 18, 2026 (Lusa) — Former Mozambique Finance Minister Manuel Chang is set to be released on 26 March and deported to Mozambique, seven years after his arrest in connection with the "hidden debts" case, according to a New York court.
At issue is a request for early release on health grounds submitted by the defence to the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) in Brooklyn. A year ago, the court sentenced Chang to 102 months in prison. However, in a decision dated 12 February, which Lusa accessed on Wednesday, Judge Nicholas Garaufis rejected the request, considering that there were no "extraordinary and compelling" reasons to justify it, while confirming the release date for 26 March.
"He is scheduled to complete his sentence before the end of next month [March], at which time he will be deported to Mozambique," reads the decision. The judge further noted that Chang, 70, is "a few weeks away from completing his sentence," so any change would only advance his release by a "minimal period" without sufficient legal grounds, despite the defence citing kidney problems, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidaemia.
Chang, who headed Mozambique's finances from 2005 to 2015, is currently held at the FCI Danbury federal correctional institution in Connecticut. He sought release before the end of his term, alleging health reasons, detention conditions, and errors in the allocation of credits for time served, having been deprived of his liberty since December 2018, when he was arrested in South Africa.
On 17 January 2025, Manuel Chang was sentenced in the EDNY to 102 months (eight and a half years) in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering as part of the Mozambican hidden debts case.
The sentence was significantly reduced due to administrative credits granted by the Bureau of Prisons, which accounted for time already spent in pre-trial detention and good behaviour while in custody. These credits decreased the initial sentence to approximately 14 months, setting his release for 26 March.
In the decision, Judge Nicholas Garaufis concluded that the health issues raised by the defence were being properly monitored by prison authorities and did not constitute a serious risk warranting immediate release. He also stated that Chang "presented no evidence" regarding allegations of precarious detention conditions.
Before his conviction in New York, Chang had already spent about six years in custody awaiting trial, between his time in South Africa and his subsequent extradition to the US.
Chang was accused of accepting bribes and conspiracy to divert funds from Mozambique's efforts to protect and expand its natural gas and fishing industries, in a scheme to enrich himself and defraud investors.
During the trial, prosecutors accused Chang of collecting $7 million (€6.1 million) in bribes, transferred through US banks to the European accounts of an associate, an allegation the former minister denied.
In total, Chang and other participants diverted over $200 million (€173.5 million), affecting investors in the US and elsewhere by misrepresenting how the loan proceeds would be used and causing them to suffer substantial losses, prosecutors maintained.
Throughout the legal process, the defence said that Chang was merely acting on his government’s instructions when he signed the sovereign guarantees pledging that Mozambique would repay the loans, and that there was no evidence of any financial kickback for him.
Between 2013 and 2016, three state-controlled companies discreetly took out massive loans from major foreign banks. Chang signed the guarantees that ensured repayment, which were crucial to the creditors.
The proceeds were intended to fund a tuna fleet, a shipyard, Coast Guard vessels, and radar systems to protect natural gas fields off the Indian Ocean coast. However, US prosecutors stated that bankers and government officials diverted the loan money.
Discovered in 2016, the debts were estimated at approximately $2.7 billion (€2.3 billion), according to figures presented by Mozambique's Public Prosecutor's Office. Mozambique was then one of the world's ten fastest-growing economies for two decades, according to the World Bank, but ultimately plunged into financial turmoil.
Mozambique's government has reached out-of-court settlements with creditors to repay part of the debt.
PVJ/RYOL // ADB.
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