The judge found him guilty of embezzlement, money laundering and criminal association, in a scandal that arose after state-owned companies in the impoverished country illicitly borrowed $2 billion between 2013 and 2014.

Ndambi Guebuza, the son of Mozambique’s ex-president Armando Guebuza has bagged a 12-year jail term after he was found guilty on Wednesday, December 12, of a vast corruption scandal in which the government unleashed financial havoc by trying to conceal huge debts.

“The crimes committed have brought consequences whose effects will last for generations,” said Judge Efigenio Baptista who found Ndambi Guebuza guilty of embezzlement, money laundering and criminal association, in a scandal that arose after state-owned companies in the impoverished country illicitly borrowed $2 billion between 2013 and 2014.

The scandal arose after state-owned companies in the impoverished country illicitly borrowed $2 billion (1.9 billion euros) in 2013 and 2014 from international banks to buy a tuna-fishing fleet and surveillance vessels.

The government masked the loans from parliament and the public.

When the “hidden debt” finally surfaced in 2016, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donors cut off financial support, triggering a sovereign debt default and currency collapse.

An independent audit found $500 million of the loans had been diverted. The money remains unaccounted for.

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