'Irrational' extradition of Mozambique Minister on ice

SA Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has moved to stop former Mozambican Finance Minister Manuel Chang being extradited to his home country rather than the US to face fraud charges. He is seeking to overturn his predecessor Michael Masutha's last act as Minister to order Chang's extradition to Mozambique where he is protected by immunity and will almost certainly escape scot free, notes Legalbrief. Lamola is to approach the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to review and set aside the decision made by Masutha two months ago. Chang was arrested in December 2018 at OR Tambo International Airport at the request of US authorities for his alleged involvement in a $2bn (about R28bn) fraud. According to the Sunday Times, after seeking legal advice, Lamola says Masutha’s decision, taken on his last day as Justice Minister, was ‘irrational, and inconsistent with the Constitution’. The new information submitted to the court includes details about the double immunity Chang is privy to under Mozambican law. 'Such immunities appear to suggest that any extradition to Mozambique will contravene the SADC Protocol, SA Constitution and the Extradition Act. As such, the previous decision may not be legally permissible,' Justice Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri is quoted as saying. In addition, the SA Extradition Act requires that the person to be extradited should have been charged for the crimes he is alleged to have committed. Chang has yet to be charged, because his immunities have not been lifted. Lamola argues that Masutha was mistaken in believing that Maputo would revoke Chang’s immunity from prosecution, notes a News24 report. ‘It is therefore not clear that Mr Chang would be liable to a lawful prosecution should he be surrendered to the authorities in Mozambique,’ Lamola said in the draft papers. The report adds Lamola has also received papers from a Mozambican NGO seeking review of the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court ruling that found Chang is extraditable to Mozambique. Lamola will not be opposing this application.

The US Government has welcomed Lamola’s decision, notes the Sunday Times report. Embassy spokesperson Robert Mearkle said Washington continued to encourage the SA Government to honour the US extradition request. ‘Mr Chang is alleged to be part of a sophisticated criminal enterprise that engaged in financial crimes designed to defraud both the Mozambican people and international investors – an enterprise that we continue to believe the US justice system is best placed to prosecute successfully.’ In papers prepared for the court application, Lamola argues that Masutha’s decision ran counter to domestic, regional and international treaties. A New York court has indicted Chang on several charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering in relation to loans guaranteed by the Mozambican Government and signed off by Chang when he was Finance Minister between 2005 and 2015. The Mozambican Government took out loans amounting to $2bn to buy a tuna fishing fleet and surveillance ships, but hid the transaction from Parliament and international donors. The hidden debt plunged Mozambique into its worst financial crisis since independence in 1975. An independent audit found that a quarter of the loan amount was diverted, and unaccounted for. The US alleges at least $200m was spent on bribes and kickbacks, including $12m on Chang.

Lamola’s decision is a major setback for the Mozambique Government as it could well lead to revelations in a US court of wider government implication in a major shipping fraud scam, according to a commentary on the Daily Maverick site. Experts believe the vessels for the shipping fleet were all overpriced and unsuitable for the purpose for which they were acquired. None has seen real service. US prosecutors have alleged that the perpetrators never intended the deal to culminate in viable enterprises for the Mozambique state. In their indictment of Chang, some Credit Suisse bankers and an executive of the shipbuilding company, alleged the scheme was designed from the start as a fraud to enrich those who devised it. The Budget Monitoring Forum and other Mozambique civil society organisations fear that if Chang were extradited to Mozambique, the Frelimo Government would bury the case to avoid embarrassing revelations that might incriminate more senior politicians and officials, especially in an election year. But if Chang stands trial in the US instead, the case could throw unflattering light on him and others in the Maputo Government.