The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, decided, this Thursday, the extradition of the former Minister of Economy and Finance, Manuel Chang, to be tried in the United States of America (USA) in the "Hidden Debts" case, whose trial of 19 defendants and hearing of declarants is already underway in Mozambique.

"Mr. Manuel Chang will be turned over and extradited to the United States of America to stand trial for his alleged crimes," read the South African judge, Maragarete Ruth.

The South African judge ruled in favor of the appeal filed by the Mozambican non-governmental organization 'Budget Monitoring Forum' (FMO). In the document, the NGO alleged the possibility of Chang escaping trial and accountability if he were sent to Mozambique.

The Gauteng court claims that the former Minister of Economy and Finance "is accused of corruption of the highest order."

Thus, the Gauteng Court's decision reverses the South African government's earlier decision to extradite Manuel Chang to Mozambique, which had also made an identical request to the American justice.

Chang has been detained in South Africa since 2018 at the request of US authorities for his alleged involvement in the huge "Hidden Debt" case, namely financial crimes and bribery in the scheme of illegally contracting a $2.2 billion debt, equivalent to 12% of Mozambique's Gross Domestic Product.

As a consequence of these debts, Mozambique has plunged into its biggest post-independence financial crisis that has driven hundreds of thousands of people into poverty.

The accusations, which date back to the mandate of the former president of the Republic of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza, state that the illegal loans in favor of the companies MAM, ProIndicus and EMATUM, between 2013 and 2014, did not have the approval of Parliament and the Administrative Court.