Ex-Finance Minister, 8 execs, officials indicted by U.S. over $2B fraud

The U.S. Justice Department indicted Mozambique's former finance minister, along with eight executives, officials and investment bankers, over their alleged roles in a $2 billion fraud and money laundering scheme, the department said on Thursday.

The alleged co-conspirators arranged for more than $2 billion in loans intended to fund three maritime projects, but diverted more than $200 million in loan proceeds in bribe payments to former Finance Minister Manuel Chang and other officials and kickback payments to three investment bankers, the department said. 

(With inputs from agencies.)