South African authorities would adopt a wait-and-see approach before deciding whether or not to seek businessman Billy Rautenbach’s extradition from Zimbabwe.
This comes as Rautenbach, best known in South Africa and Botswana for his activities in assembling Hyundai cars, was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and deported to Zimbabwe.
”We will wait to see what happens to him in Zimbabwe. If he is not imprisoned the [extradition] option remains open,” said Panyaza Lesufi, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson.
Rautenbach, a Zimbabwean passport holder, faces hundreds of charges of fraud, corruption and other crimes in South Africa.
The London-based public-relations company, Bell Pottinger, on behalf of the Katanga provincial government, said: ”The government of the DRC is making strenuous efforts to clean up the mining sector in the country, and has taken seriously South African charges of fraud, corruption and other crimes against Rautenbach.”
Rautenbach is a major shareholder in Central African Mining and Exploration (Camec), which owns copper-mining properties in the DRC.
Katanga governor Moise Katumbi said later: ”Even if we have as yet no extradition facilities in place, we will not continue to allow such people to operate in the DRC with impunity.”
Camec, chaired by former England cricketer Phil Edmonds, is in a hostile bid for DRC-focused copper firm Katanga Mining. — Sapa