Mozambique’s former Finance Minister Manuel Chang is set to face charges in the US over his role in a $2 billion so-called “tuna-bond” scandal, after South Africa’s top court dismissed an appeal by his home country for him to be tried there.
(Bloomberg) — Mozambique’s former Finance Minister Manuel Chang is set to face charges in the US over his role in a $2 billion so-called “tuna-bond” scandal, after South Africa’s top court dismissed an appeal by his home country for him to be tried there.
The Constitutional Court of South Africa rejected a request by Mozambique’s government to appeal an earlier court ruling that Chang should be extradited because of a “lack of reasonable prospects of success,” it said Wednesday in a judgment seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by South Africa’s Justice Ministry.
Chang has been detained in a South African prison since his arrest at a Johannesburg airport in December 2018, during which a series of court cases and appeals took place over whether he should be extradited to the US or Mozambique.
Three bankers formerly employed by Credit Suisse Group AG have pleaded guilty to charges in legal proceedings in the US and the lender in 2021 agreed to pay a $475 million fine.
The “tuna bond” scandal resulted in hundreds of millions allegedly being looted from Mozambique and tipped the country into economic crisis. Chang will face charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud and money laundering.
“Mr. Chang will be extradited to the US,” the Mozambique government’s lawyer, Busani Mabunda, said in an emailed response to questions.
Stiaan Krause, Chang’s legal representative, declined to immediately comment as he was yet to study the order. A spokesman for the US embassy in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital, declined to comment.
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