The government of the United States of America (USA), through the Department of Justice (DoJ), has added more names of Mozambican citizens accused of being conspirators in the hidden debts.

Previously, that institution pointed to Manuel Chang - who is on trial in the US and whose sentence should be handed down soon - Teófilo Nhangumele and António Carlos do Rosário. These two are also defendants in the ongoing trial in New York.

Now, according to Center for Public Integrity (CIP)CIP, which is closely following the trial of Manuel Chang, the former Finance Minister, reports that on Monday (05), the DoJ included on that list the names of Filipe Nyusi, the former Minister of National Defense and President of the Republic of Mozambique, Gregório Leão, former Director of SISE, Armando Ndambi Guebuza, son of President Guebuza and Isaltina Lucas, former National Treasury Director. CIP reports that the prosecutor, Hiral Metha, called them conspirators.

The Non-Governmental Organization clarifies that this "does not mean that these people have been indicted by the US DoJ, however, they are considered conspirators in the hidden debt scheme which, according to the indictment, defrauded US investors".

As soon as I entered the session room, I was struck by the presence of a giant whiteboard with photos printed in color and pasted in a row. On the board, in order, are the faces of Surjan Singh, Andrew Perse, Jean Bustani, Manuel Chang, Iskandar Safa, Armando Guebuza Junior, Detelina Subeva, Najib Allan, Isaltina Lucas, António do Rosário and Teófilo Nhangumele. Underneath the photos are written the real names and nicknames used to designate the conspirators in the email exchanges between the defendants of the hidden debts that fell under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As soon as prosecutor Genny Ngai began to present her closing arguments, the board was positioned in front of the 13 members of the jury and from time to time, the prosecutor pointed to the photos telling the members of the jury that "these are the conspirators of the hidden debts who defrauded US investors". In another list of conspirators, presented in a power point slide, the DoJ included Filipe Nyusi and Gregório Leão in the list of conspirators of the hidden debts. (Source: CIP. Image: DR)