FCA ban two criminal bankers over Mozambique's $1.5 billion "Tuna Bond" scandal.
19/03/2025
March 04, 2025 – it has been reported that the FCA, 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 a bribery scheme involving a US$2 billion (RM8.92 billion) bond fraud in Mozambique.
- Andrew Pearse in 2019 in the US
- Admitted to wire fraud, money laundering and receiving kickbacks worth over US$45 million for his role in arranging corrupt loans to Mozambique.
- Surjan Singh in 2019 in the US
- Admitted to charges of money laundering and accepting US$5.7 million in unlawful payments.
Steve Smart, the FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said
- “There is no place in our markets for those who engage in bribery and corruption,”
The FCA indicated that it was waiting until Pearse and Singh had been sentenced for their U.S. convictions to take enforcement action against the pair, but the sentencing has still not taken place.
FCA notices are here:-
- https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-bans-former-credit-suisse-executives-corrupt-loans-mozambique
- Final Notice 2025: Andrew James Pearse https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/final-notices/andrew-james-pearse-2025.pdf
- Final Notice 2025: Surjan Singh https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/final-notices/surjan-singh-2025.pdf
- Final Notice 2021: Credit Suisse https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/final-notices/credit-suisse-2021.pdf
IN THE US
- 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.
MOZAMBIQUE $1.5 BILLION "TUNA BOND" SCANDAL:
- The sprawling international case involves the Mozambique government fraudulently obtaining 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.
- Involved loans to Mozambican state-owned companies totalling $2 billion. This was intended to strengthen the coastguard and build a tuna fishing fleet; however, hundreds of millions were diverted instead.
Read more here
- https://www.comsuregroup.com/news/94-red-flags-were-missed-in-the-tuna-bonds-825-million-claim/
- https://www.comsuregroup.com/news/former-finance-minister-guilty-of-participating-in-2-billion-fraud-bribery-and-money-laundering-scheme/
ACTIONS TO DATE
- Credit Suisse accepted fines totalling around half a billion US dollars before the US judiciary.
- The FCA fined Credit Suisse $145 million in 2021, part of a $475 million global settlement over its failure to stop the fraud. Credit Suisse also agreed to write off $200 million of debt to Mozambique.
- 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. At the same time, much of the debt was kept hidden from bondholders and other lenders.
MARCH 2025
- Former head of risk and compliance fined CHF100K over Mozambique's $1.5 billion "Tuna Bond" scandal.
- The Swiss Federal Department of Finance has fined Lara Warner, the former head of risk and compliance at Credit Suisse, CHF100,000 ($114,000), for failing to report suspicions of money laundering promptly in connection with the Mozambique financing scandal.
- The accused was aware of the suspicious facts and nevertheless did not make any effort to submit a report to the Money Laundering Reporting Office in Switzerland (MROS), according to the foreign ministry's penal order, which is available to the Keystone-SDA news agency.
Source
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ex-credit-suisse-bankers-banned-120520473.html
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.