Mokwena Cleared After Cash Declaration Case – DIRCO Confirms
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) head of public diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, has confirmed that Rulani Mokwena has been cleared after being stopped from leaving Algeria with an undeclared amount of cash.
Reports that Mokwena had been apprehended in Algeria were inaccurate. However, he was prosecuted for attempting to take foreign currency out of the country without declaring it at Houari Boumediene International Airport.
The court is said to have handed Mokwena a two-month suspended sentence, confiscated the undeclared amount estimated at €14,200, and imposed a fine of 50,000 Algerian dinars.
He was never taken into custody but instead stayed at an airport hotel, where he was questioned about carrying a large sum of money that had not been declared, which is against Algerian law.
“Update on coach Rulani Mokwena: The South African Embassy in Algeria has confirmed that he has been cleared to leave the country. He is currently at a hotel, and our team will be with him tomorrow to ensure that his travel back home is facilitated without any hiccups,” said Monyela.
DIRCO is responsible for managing South Africa’s relationships with foreign countries and international organisations, as well as overseeing the country’s diplomatic missions. The department is currently headed by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Lindiwe Sisulu.
According to Algerian journalist Nazim Bessol, writing in the Inside African Football group, Algerian law provides for both criminal and financial penalties when foreign currency is not declared:
- Seizure and confiscation of undeclared money
- A fine of up to twice the seized amount
- Imprisonment of between two and seven years in cases of serious fraud
- Possible confiscation of the means used to commit the offence
In less serious cases, a judge may impose:
- A suspended sentence
- A fine
- Confiscation of the money
Importantly, even if the money was legally earned, an offence may still be committed if it is not declared to customs, as the law is primarily aimed at controlling the flow of currency leaving the country.
Mokwena was leaving Algeria after his resignation as the head coach of MC Alger and is expected to take over at Al Ittihad in Libya. He will reunite with Thembinkosi Lorch and Aziz Ki, whom he previously coached at Wydad Casablanca in Morocco.
It will also mark the third time Mokwena has worked with Lorch, having coached him previously at Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. It is rumoured that Mokwena will earn about $100,000 per month in Libya.
