Politically Exposed Person (PEP) Weekly Digest – Volume 85

85th PEP Weekly Digest:

Introducing the 85th edition of The PEP Weekly Digest, where we present to you the most recent updates and news on the global political stage.

Recent and upcoming elections influence the worldwide political landscape in eight nations, slated between Dec 22, 2024 and Feb 09, 2025. These elections hold significant importance, as they will determine the direction and governance of each respective country’s future.

Bulgaria Appoints New Prime Minister After Extended Political Stalemate, Aims for Eurozone Membership.

One noteworthy event has occurred in Bulgaria, Bulgarian lawmakers voted in a new prime minister and cabinet Thursday after more than two months of negotiations. Rosen Zhelyazkov from the center-right GERB party was selected as Bulgaria’s prime minister. The powerful GERB party won 69 seats in the 240-seat legislature at Bulgaria’s election in October, the country’s seventh in four years due to its yearslong political deadlock.

Zhelyazkov was supported by a broad coalition of leftist, populist and centrist parties, whom he thanked in a parliamentary address. Zhelyazkov added his government’s priorities would include protecting rule of law and ensuring Bulgaria joins the eurozone. It fully joined the EU’s borderless Schengen Area on Jan. 1 but is not a member of the EU’s currency union.

Mozambique’s New President Sworn In Amid Protests and Allegations of Electoral Fraud

Shifting our focus to Mozambique, Daniel Chapo of Mozambique’s long-ruling Frelimo party was sworn in as president at a sparsely attended ceremony after months of protests against his disputed election victory. A local civil society monitoring group says more than 300 people have been killed in clashes with security forces since the Oct. 9 vote, which the opposition says Frelimo won through vote-rigging and Western observers say was not free and fair. Frelimo denies accusations of electoral fraud.

It has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, clinging on throughout a 15-year civil war that killed a million people before a 1992 truce. Chapo told a group of about 1,500 supporters from a stage in the capital Maputo that social and political stability would be his government’s top priority. He also promised to shrink the size of the government by reducing the number of ministries, tackle youth unemployment and prioritise health and education.

Mike Braun Sworn in as Indiana’s 52nd Governor, Focusing on State’s Future Amid New Federal Leadership

In United States, Indiana’s new governor was sworn into office before an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds of the state’s most powerful politicos and everyday Hoosiers, with speakers focusing on the Hoosier State’s future under the new administration — which coincides with new leadership at the federal level. Mike Braun, a former U.S. senator, took the oath of office on two Bibles — one used by his family and the other used for Benjamin Harrison’s presidential inauguration.

Harrison is the only Hoosier to ever hold the nation’s highest office. Braun will be the state’s 52nd governor to take office and succeeds Eric Holcomb, who held the office for eight years. Braun won a contentious six-way Republican primary in May and overcame challenges from Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater in a November election.

BitMEX Fined $100 Million for Violating U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Laws

In the realm of regulatory affairs, the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has been fined $100 million for deliberately ignoring U.S. anti-money laundering laws in order to boost revenue, the U.S. Department of Justice said. BitMEX, also known as HDR Global Trading, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan, after pleading guilty last July. The sentence includes two years of probation. BitMEX and its founders, who entered related guilty pleas in 2022 and were sentenced to probation, previously paid about $110 million in related criminal and civil cases, court papers show.

Prosecutors accused BitMEX and founders Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed of willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act between 2015 and 2020 by failing to adopt anti-money laundering and “know your customer” programs, effectively turning the exchange into a money laundering platform.

Former Mozambique Finance Minister Sentenced to 102 Months for Role in $2 Billion Fraud and Bribery Scheme

Shifting our attention to Mozambique, the former Finance Minister of Mozambique was sentenced for 102 months in prison for his role in a $2 billion international fraud, bribery, and money laundering scheme, in which he received $7 million in bribes to approve fraudulent loans. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Manuel Chang, 69, of Mozambique, received $7 million in bribes in exchange for signing guarantees on behalf of the Republic of Mozambique to secure funding for three loans for maritime projects.

As part of the scheme, Chang and his co-conspirators falsely told banks and investors that the loan proceeds would be used for the projects and not to pay bribes to government officials. In fact, however, Chang and his co-conspirators diverted more than $200 million of the loan proceeds that were used, among other things, to pay bribes and kickbacks to Chang and others.

“Manuel Chang abused his position as Finance Minister of Mozambique by obtaining $7 million in bribe payments in exchange for helping secure more than $2 billion in loans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Chang’s brazen misconduct betrayed his duty to the people of Mozambique and defrauded investors, including those in the United States, of substantial amounts.Chang has been held accountable for his violations of U.S. law.”

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