This archive report was first published on 2 December 2019.
Published on December 2, 2019, a US federal court jury delivered a verdict that shocked many: Lebanese businessman Jean Boustani was found not guilty in the alleged $2-billion fraud case.
Boustani, who works for Abu Dhabi-based ship-building company Privinvest, was on trial for his alleged role in a massive bribery scheme involving Mozambique's state-owned security companies.
Between 2013 and 2014, Mozambique borrowed approximately $2 billion (1.75 billion euros) from Credit Suisse and Russia's VTB Bank to purchase military and fishing vessels from Privinvest.
However, the government only disclosed the debt in 2016, plunging the country into its worst-ever financial crisis.
US prosecutors alleged that at least $200 million of the loans was spent on bribes and kickbacks to politicians and top officials.
Prosecutors claimed that American investors had been defrauded because they had not been informed of the bribery scheme behind the deal.
Boustani admitted to paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to Mozambique officials for the equipment contracts, but he was not on trial for bribery charges.
Instead, he faced criminal conspiracy to defraud US investors.
During his testimony, Boustani alleged that part of the money went to fund the 2014 election campaign of President Filipe Nyusi, who was defense minister at the time.
The ruling Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) denies that Nyusi committed any wrongdoing, but the largest opposition party has called for him to resign.
Three of Boustani's co-defendants earlier pleaded guilty.
"We are gratified and relieved, and thank the jury for its service," Boustani's lead lawyer, Michael Schachter, told AFP after the verdict.
