NZ Man Admits Pocketing Millions

New Zealand man Andrew Pearse has admitted to taking millions of dollars in kickbacks as part of a multi-billion dollar scandal that threatened to bankrupt the poor African nation of Mozambique.

In their indictments, US prosecutors portray Pearse as one of the ringleaders of the multi-national fraud, which has also implicated the country’s former finance minister and about 20 others.

reported that Pearse, a London-based former Credit Suisse banker, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, last Friday.

It’s unclear whether Pearse is co-operating with US prosecutors as his plea agreement and all other related records were placed under seal. Prosecutors claimed that Pearse and his associates skimmed at least $US200 million (FJ$426.36m) from secret $2 billion (FJ$ 4.26bn) loans, purportedly made to fund dubious maritime projects in Mozambique. The $US45 (FJ$ 95.93m) million paid to Pearse is the largest sum received by any of the individuals named in the indictment.

Pearse, 49, has previously owned two properties in Christchurch, both of which were last sold on the same day in 2013 - the year the alleged fraud began.

The properties are now owned by a company whose title matches his initials - AJP Trustee Services - and another individual. Speaking to from Mozambique’s capital Maputo in January, Jorge Matine from Mozambican financial watchdog, the Budget Monitoring Forum, said United States prosecutors appeared to be alleging Pearse was one of the ringleaders of the scam.

“He’s one of the masterminds of this scheme [of] corruption and illegal debt.