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| South Africa drops charges against Finance Minister Gordhan | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| South Africa's chief prosecutor has dropped fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. | South Africa's chief prosecutor has dropped fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. |
| Mr Gordhan had described the allegations as without merit and politically motivated. | |
| News of the charges earlier this month rattled the financial markets and the South African rand fell more than 3%. | News of the charges earlier this month rattled the financial markets and the South African rand fell more than 3%. |
| The finance minister was appointed last year after President Jacob Zuma's preferred candidate lasted just a few days in the job. | |
| He is not seen as a close ally of the president and has warned against corruption becoming rampant in South Africa. | |
| The fraud charges related to alleged severance payments made to two senior executives at the South African Revenue Service (Sars), when it was under Mr Gordhan's leadership 10 years ago. | |
| After reviewing the charges, the head of South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority, Shaun Abrahams, said there had been no criminal intent. | |
| At a new conference on Monday, he rejected criticism that the original charges had been politically motivated. | |
| He said that everyone was treated equally before the law, and that laying charges and reviewing them was normal practice, IOL news website quotes him as saying. |