Former Minister of Finance of Mozambique Manuel Chang will be extradited to the United States of America (US) this week.to respond to involvement in the hidden debt scandal, an official source told Lusa.
“Yes, we can confirm that he will be extradited to the US this week,” South African Police National Command (SAPS) spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe told Lusa.
“He has been arrested in South Africa, we will hand him over to the FBI this week on an extradition request,” the spokeswoman said.
According to the same source, Manuel Chang, who was Mozambique’s Minister of Economy and Finance between 2005 and 2015, will be handed over by the FBI “on Monday or Tuesday”. [Federal Bureau of Investigation]police unit of the United States Department of Justice, in a special plane, after four and a half years incarcerated in a prison in South Africa for his involvement in the scandal of hidden debts of the Mozambican state, estimated at 2.7 billion dollars (2.5 billion euros).
The extradition of Manuel Chang to the United States was communicated to the parties by South African authorities on June 30, according to a Johannesburg Public Prosecutor’s Communication to which Lusa had access.
“The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development has been informed by Interpol in Pretoria that they are in contact with the ‘US Marshall Service’ and Mr Chang will be handed over to US authorities during the period of July 8-10, 2023. also confirmed by Ms. Lerner of the US Department of Justice,” reads the note consulted by Lusa.
Manuel Chang, age 63, was arrested on December 29, 2018 at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, on his way to Dubai, based on an international arrest warrant issued by the United States on December 27, for his alleged involvement in the trial of so-called hidden debts.
In the past four years, the former Mozambican ruler, seen as the “key” in the hidden debt scandal, has faced two competing requests from the United States and Mozambique for his extradition from South Africa without trial.
On 24 May 2023, the Constitutional Court of South Africa rejected a final appeal by the Attorney General of Mozambique (PGR) against the extradition of former minister Manuel Chang to the US for the second time in 12 months.
According to the court order, which Lusa had access to, the Constitutional Court reiterated that the former Mozambican ruler must be handed over and extradited to the United States of America to be tried for alleged crimes committed in that country, as stated in the January 28 extradition request 2019.
On June 7 last year, South Africa’s Constitutional Court rejected Maputo’s request to appeal Chang’s extradition to the US.
In November 2021, the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg overturned a decision by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola to extradite Chang to Mozambique.
The former Mozambican finance minister is facing charges and has already been ruled by the Court of Maputo City, the capital of Mozambique, as part of an autonomous process over undeclared debts.
US authorities allege that the former ruler conspired with Credit Suisse bankers and international promoters to loan the country for maritime projects, such as the purchase of an anti-maritime piracy fleet, which ultimately never got off the ground.
In 2021, Credit Suisse paid nearly $475 million (€433 million) to end multiple investigations into its role in this scandal, one of many the Swiss bank has faced in recent years, in a lawsuit that also saw three former bankers were involved.
Mozambique took out loans for almost 2 billion dollars (1.8 billion euros) for maritime projectsbut it did not report them to international partners or reflect them in public accounts, and when it failed to pay the installments, it caused a “default” that plunged the country into economic and financial crisis.
The case became an example of the not always transparent relationship between African countries and the major international banks, and litigation is also taking place in the United Kingdom.
Source: DN
