Manuel Chang’s extradition to US postponed due to Mozambican appeal

The extradition to the United States of former Treasury Secretary Manuel Chang, who is serving a four-year prison sentence in South Africa, remains “unenforceable” as the Mozambique government turns to South African justice, legal sources said Tuesday.

Chang is the subject of two competing extradition requests, from the United States of America (USA) and Mozambique, and has been held in South African custody since December 2018 under a US arrest warrant.

“Waiting for a response from GSS [Supremo Tribunal de Recurso] and it’s impossible to predict the time [do tribunal]”, – confirmed to Luce a legal source in the extradition trial of the former Mozambican ruler, taking place in South Africa.

A previous ruling by the Gauteng High Court on November 10, 2021 ruled that the former ruler of Mozambique should be extradited to the United States.

The next day, the government of Mozambique asked the SCA of South Africa in Bloemfontein, in the center of the country, for leave to appeal against the decision of the High Court of Gauteng and simultaneously filed a request for direct access to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt, abbreviated in English), in Pretoria, which, according to in his opinion, “is in a better position to review the decision” of the Gauteng District Court.

However, in June of this year, the Constitutional Court of South Africa rejected the request of the Attorney General of the Republic (AGR) of Mozambique to challenge the extradition of the former finance minister of Mozambique to the United States.

“This is a typical case of an iron fist in which there is no compromise, and the Mozambique prosecutor’s office, headed by Ms. Beatrice Buchili and very closely associated with President Newsi, is simply doing everything in her power to delay and prevent extradition to the United States, although already twice the judiciary in South Africa has ruled that this is the only decision permitted by law and constitution, and all appeals against these decisions have been dismissed, most recently before a special appeal was lodged with the Constitutional Court of South Africa. “, says Luza academician and lawyer André Thomashausen, specialist in international and comparative law.

The decision of the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg nullified last August’s announcement by South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola that Mozambique should be the site of Manuel Chang’s trial.

According to Judge Margaret Victor, “corruption contributes to the fact that poor countries become even poorer”, stressing that the Minister of Justice of South Africa had to justify in his “fullness” the reasons for the decision to extradite Manuel Chang to Mozambique.

“There are material considerations that call into question, for example, an arrest warrant,” the judge stressed, referring to the second arrest warrant issued by the Mozambican authorities on February 14, 2020 against Manuel Chang, which she considered “difficult to execute.” understand”.

“It seems that there is a crime of passive corruption for a certain act, and it is not clear whether there will be a punishment for Mr. Chang in connection with this,” the South African judge said.

Following the decision, the US government also reaffirmed its commitment to prosecute those responsible for “large-scale fraud, bribery and money laundering” in accordance with the South African court’s decision.

Over the past four years, the extradition of the former Mozambican finance minister, who is considered the “key” in the alleged Mozambican millionaires’ scam with hidden debts, has been scheduled for the third time, following two attempts by Pretoria invalidated in May 2019 and August 2021. in Maputo.

The former ruler of Mozambique, who has been detained in South Africa since December 2018 at the request of the United States, is allegedly involved in a case of hidden debts worth more than $ 2.2 billion (about two billion euros) concluded between 2013 and 2014 with the British. branches of investment banks Credit Suisse and VTB by Mozambican state-owned companies Proindicus, Ematum and MAM.

The loans were secretly approved by the Frelimo government, headed at the time by the President of the Republic, Armando Guebuza, predecessor of Filipe Nyusi, without the knowledge of Parliament and the Administrative Court of the Portuguese-speaking country.

“And here lies the big problem, in my opinion, that President Newsi and his administration want to continue to hide until the last investigation, this does not suit Mr. Chang, in an American court where he can feel safe, he comes to explain who ordered him to sign and what he did, because it is inconceivable that he carried out these acts of corruption and money laundering, money laundering on his own initiative,” Thomashausen stressed.

“A detention that is only meant to secure extradition is unusual to be extended beyond a year. Here we are talking about four years, during which this person is being held without trial, without formal charges, without the possibility of defense, this is a violation of basic human rights, ”concluded the South African lawyer in a conversation with Lusa.