The Strategist

Credit Suisse ex-banker admitted $ 45 mln bribe



10/17/2019 - 11:36



Former Credit Suisse banker Andrew Pearse told a jury in Brooklyn that he illegally received at least $ 45 million for his role in arranging $ 2 billion worth of loans to companies in Mozambique.



Plaza Financiera
Plaza Financiera
In addition, Pearse, who pleaded guilty to fraud, said that at least four other Credit Suisse bankers also took millions of dollars in bribes from the shipbuilding group Privinvest.

“They all played a role in ensuring that the bank granted loans,” Pearse said in court, “they provided the bank with false information about Privinvest.”

Pierce is a key witness in the case against Jean Boustani, Privinvest sales agent described by prosecutors as the "mastermind" of the fraudulent scheme. Prosecutors say Mozambique government officials, corporate executives, and investment bankers appropriated about $ 200 million in loan proceeds.

According to Bloomberg, defense attorney Michael Schachter told the jury in opening statements that Boustani was not cheating on investors and had nothing to do with promoting loans. Schachter believes that Pearse got the “sweetest deal” in the US and testified against Boustani to escape prison.

Credit Suisse loans were intended for three separate offshore projects: tuna vessels, shipyard construction, and a surveillance system to protect Mozambique's coastline. Prosecutors insist that Privinvest managers overestimated the prices of equipment and services, appropriating the difference.

Moreover, according to investigators, the ex-Minister of Finance of Mozambique, Manuel Chang, who held the post during the conclusion of transactions with creditors, was involved in the scandal. The indictment states that Chang and the bankers "created offshore projects as a cover for their own enrichment and deliberately redistributed parts of the loan." 

In addition, the repentant banker said that some other former employees of Credit Suisse received multimillion-dollar profits. The witness called them “silent partners.”

source: bloomberg.com




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