U.S. v. Boustani, et al.

After a six-week long jury trial, Privinvest shipbuilding salesman Jean Boustani was acquitted of all charges of fraud and money laundering related to sales of debt-linked securities backed by the Mozambique government. The US government had charged Mr. Boustani with conspiring to defraud investors by making payments to government officials and bankers when those investors would not have invested had they known of those payments. Analysis Group Vice President Sumon Mazumdar led a case team, including Vice President Luxi Wang, Manager Emma Dong, and Associates Nicholas Blair and Yosub Jung, in supporting affiliate David Hinman’s expert testimony on behalf of Mr. Boustani.

Mr. Hinman, a hedge fund manager who had bought some of the same bonds that were at issue, testified that he was well aware of the risk of corruption in Mozambique regardless of any private disclosures. He noted such risk as a common factor in the world of emerging market debt investing, explained the structure of the deals, and demonstrated that Mr. Boustani, a Lebanese citizen, had no connections to the US or its investors. Mr. Hinman also testified that he made money on his investment, indicating that risk did not necessarily correlate with fraud.