News / National
Mnangagwa ally denied bai in Germanyl, faces extradition
30 Sep 2018 at 20:33hrs | Views
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa's ally Zunaid Moti has been denied bail in Germany and could next month be extradited to Russia to face fraud charges.
The controversial South African businessman, who is currently held in Munich prison, was arrested in August when he attempted to leave Germany. This followed a notice by Russian authorities to Interpol that Moti was wanted on fraud charges. Moti is accused of defrauding Russian citizen Alibek Issaev out of several million rand in an alleged bogus mining deal. The alleged incident took place in Lebanon in 2013.
Although Moti is understood to have presented evidence to authorities showing that he had never set foot in Lebanon in the first place, this has not deterred authorities from pursuing the case. The tycoon who has various business interests in South Africa and Zimbabwe including car financing, aviation, property development, security services, transport and logistics, and mining, is also accused of stealing a rare R500-million pink diamond.
Information from South African media suggests that Moti's extradition issue to Moscow could be finalized in the next few weeks. Florian Gliwitzky, head of the press office at the Higher Regional Court in Munich, confirmed that court has issued a "preliminary order for extradition". "The court will have to decide if the extradition to the authorities of the Russian Federation is permissible," said Gliwitzky. The latest development comes at a time when Moti – who has now moved strongly into Zimbabwe, where he says the group employs 2 000 people and is one of the largest foreign investors – is trying to change his lifestyle for the better.
The group's African Chrome Fields operation in Zimbabwe consists of seven plants and produces 400 000 tonnes of chrome a year, which is to increase to 800 000 tonnes by the end of 2018. However, it is understood that Moti's bankers Investec has concluded that Moti business is not liquid and is close to bankruptcy. Investec sent lawyers to listen in on Moti's bail applications – and came to the conclusion that it was very likely that Moti would be jailed.
This could spell doom for his interests in Zimbabwe, which the group wanted to sell a stake of the business for $500 million. "We feel comfortable where we are at; other people also want to exploit Zimbabwe and they need the correct entry into Zimbabwe with people already established. There's no point for big companies to come in and start what we already have for four years. So use this as a platform for companies to come into Zimbabwe," Moti said in an interview last month before he was jailed.
The controversial South African businessman, who is currently held in Munich prison, was arrested in August when he attempted to leave Germany. This followed a notice by Russian authorities to Interpol that Moti was wanted on fraud charges. Moti is accused of defrauding Russian citizen Alibek Issaev out of several million rand in an alleged bogus mining deal. The alleged incident took place in Lebanon in 2013.
Although Moti is understood to have presented evidence to authorities showing that he had never set foot in Lebanon in the first place, this has not deterred authorities from pursuing the case. The tycoon who has various business interests in South Africa and Zimbabwe including car financing, aviation, property development, security services, transport and logistics, and mining, is also accused of stealing a rare R500-million pink diamond.
Information from South African media suggests that Moti's extradition issue to Moscow could be finalized in the next few weeks. Florian Gliwitzky, head of the press office at the Higher Regional Court in Munich, confirmed that court has issued a "preliminary order for extradition". "The court will have to decide if the extradition to the authorities of the Russian Federation is permissible," said Gliwitzky. The latest development comes at a time when Moti – who has now moved strongly into Zimbabwe, where he says the group employs 2 000 people and is one of the largest foreign investors – is trying to change his lifestyle for the better.
The group's African Chrome Fields operation in Zimbabwe consists of seven plants and produces 400 000 tonnes of chrome a year, which is to increase to 800 000 tonnes by the end of 2018. However, it is understood that Moti's bankers Investec has concluded that Moti business is not liquid and is close to bankruptcy. Investec sent lawyers to listen in on Moti's bail applications – and came to the conclusion that it was very likely that Moti would be jailed.
This could spell doom for his interests in Zimbabwe, which the group wanted to sell a stake of the business for $500 million. "We feel comfortable where we are at; other people also want to exploit Zimbabwe and they need the correct entry into Zimbabwe with people already established. There's no point for big companies to come in and start what we already have for four years. So use this as a platform for companies to come into Zimbabwe," Moti said in an interview last month before he was jailed.
Source - fingaz
