By RFIPalled on 14-07-2019Modified the 14-07-2019 at 01:36

Manuel Chang, the former Mozambican finance minister currently detained in South Africa, will not be extradited to Maputo. The new South African Minister of Justice has decided to overturn a decision made on 21 May by his predecessor, which provoked the anger of the United States, who are also demanding the extradition of Manuel Chang. The latter is accused of receiving bribes in the amount of $ 12 million in the so-called "hidden debts of Mozambique" case, a vast network of loans illegally contracted by the state for a sum of two billion dollars.

Manuel Chang is a cumbersome prisoner and South African justice obviously does not know what to do with him. In May, the South African Minister of Justice, Michael Masutha, announced in a press release that he wanted to extradite him to his country of origin for trial.

Two months later, his successor, Ronald Lamola, quashed this decision, ruling it " irrational and inconsistent with the regional treaties signed by Pretoria ". It is based on the fact that Manuel Chang still enjoys political immunity in Mozambique, that he has not been charged and may not be tried in Maputo.

►Also read: South Africa: Manuel Chang extradited to the United States or Mozambique

The turnaround of South African justice should satisfy Washington, which had asked Pretoria to reconsider its decision. Because the United States also claim Manuel Chang, accused of fraud and money laundering in the case of the "hidden debt" of Mozambique . Scandal in which American investors have been harmed.

Between 2005 and 2015, Manuel Chang would have facilitated the granting of credit to public companies for $ 2 billion, without respecting legal procedures. For now, South Africa has not indicated whether it would accede to US demand and extradite to the US the former minister, in prison since December 2018.

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