The judge in the case of hidden debts in Mozambique said this Saturday in court that he did not find “sufficient evidence” of the participation of eight of the 19 defendants in the case in any crime.
Judge Efigénio Baptista was speaking during the fourth day of sentencing in the largest corruption case in Mozambique’s history.
“This is not about assuming that they were not involved in any criminal activity, but about assuming that there was not enough evidence,” Baptista said.
Among the eight accused for whom the magistrate said he had not found evidence is Mbanda Anabela Buque Henning, sister of Angela Leão, accused and wife of the accused and former director of the State Information and Security Service (SISE) Gregório Leão.
Nor was any evidence found in relation to former employees of an exchange agency indicated by the prosecution of the Mozambique Public Ministry as a vehicle to launder money collected in the hidden debt scheme.
In the first three days of reading the sentence, the judge considered proven the accusations against Ndambi Guebuza, eldest son of the former President of the Republic Armando Guebuza, former leaders of the SISE and other defendants involved in the process.
The judge announced that the reading of the sentence will continue on Monday, focusing on elements of law.
In the dock are 19 defendants accused by the Mozambique Public Ministry of participating in a plan that defrauded the State for more than 2,700 million dollars in debt contracted with international banks between 2013 and 2014.
The loans were guaranteed by the Government of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), then headed by Armando Guebuza, without the knowledge of parliament and the Administrative Court.
Source: Observadora
