(March 4): The UK’s financial sector regulator banned two former senior bankers at Credit Suisse Group, who pleaded guilty in the US to being part of bribery in the US$2 billion (RM8.92 billion) bond fraud in Mozambique.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned Andrew Pearse, who admitted to wire fraud, money laundering and receiving kickbacks worth over US$45 million for his role in arranging corrupt loans to Mozambique. The authority also banned Surjan Singh after he admitted charges of money laundering and accepting US$5.7 million in unlawful payments.

The sprawling international case relates to the Mozambique government fraudulently getting billions of dollars in loans from Credit Suisse and Russia’s VTB Bank PJSC to fund three dubious maritime projects, including a tuna fishing fleet, shipyards and anti-piracy boats. 

“There is no place in our markets for those who engage in bribery and corruption,” said Steve Smart, the FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight.

Pearse is facing as long as 151 months in a US prison for his part in the fraud. But US prosecutors recommend a reduced sentence due to his “exceptional” cooperation. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6. 

Mozambique’s former finance minister Manuel Chang was sentenced in January to eight-and-a-half years in prison by a US judge for his role in the fraud.

Credit Suisse was fined US$145 million by the FCA in 2021, part of a US$475 million global settlement over its failure to stop the fraud. Credit Suisse also agreed to write off US$200 million of debt to Mozambique. 

UBS Group AG, which inherited the case from Credit Suisse, and the US lawyers for Pearce and Singh didn’t immediately respond to emails for comment.

UBS reached a settlement in a UK civil suit with Mozambique over Credit Suisse’s role in the case as it sought to resolve the numerous lingering disputes that dogged the former bank. 

Meanwhile, the London judge ultimately ruled that Mozambique was defrauded — the government-backed fundraising was plagued by corrupt deals, with hundreds of millions of dollars looted, while much of the debt was kept hidden from bondholders and other lenders.

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