Mozambique: South African government to decide Chang’s extradition

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Mozambique: South African government to decide Chang’s extradition

9:33 CAT | 08 Apr 2019

The South African justice on Monday decided that Mozambique’s former minister of finance Manuel Chang, detained in the country since December, has the conditions to be extradited both to the US and to Mozambique – so the question is to be decided by South Africa’s government.

“The documents presented by Mozambique’s authorities confirmed that the defendant Manuel Chang actions caused a $2.7 billion loss (around €2.4 billion) to the country’s coffers” the Johannesburg court judge William Schutte said, adding there is also evidence that the former minister “received over $17 million (more than €15 million) in bribes”.

Monday morning the same judge also decided in favour of the US extradition request: “The requesting state [US] has enough evidence against the accused that assures it to prosecute him judicially for conspiracy for fraud, conspiracy for fraud with real estate, and conspiracy for money laundering”, he said.

“South Africa recognises the crimes he is accused of by the US justice”, he added, explaining that South Africa’s minister of justice will now have to decide on both extradition requests.

Until then, Chang will remain detained in the Modderbee prison near Kempton Park.

According to judge Schutte, the former minister has 15 days to appeal both decisions.

The member of Frelimo (the party in power in Mozambique) and former minister Manuel Chang is detained in South Africa since 29 December 2018 after an international warrant issued by the US justice, which requests his extradition as part of an investigation into Mozambique’s hidden debts.

According to the US authorities’ accusation, Manuel Chang allegedly received millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for secretly assuming public debts, without informing the parliament, between 2013 and 2014

Source: Lusa