Mozambique: Ambassador and two Foreign Ministry officials charged with embezzlement

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Mozambique: Ambassador and two Foreign Ministry officials charged with embezzlement

1:24 CAT | 29 Mar 2016

TIM / Maputo's headquarters of Mozambique’s Central Office for the Fight Against Corruption (GCCC)

Mozambique’s Central Office for the Fight Against Corruption (GCCC) announced on Monday that it has charged two officials of the Foreign Ministry, one of whom is an ambassador, with embezzlement, abuse of office, and payment of undue remunerations.

The crimes were allegedly committed by the ambassador and by a financial and administrative attaché in a continuous form between 2003 and 2012. The press release from the GCCC does not give the names of the suspects or say where they had been stationed.

As part of their duties, the two men handled the money sent from Maputo for the day to day running costs of their diplomatic mission.

The GCCC says that the two stole money by processing wages for staff who no longer worked at the embassy, by paying for fictitious air travel and vehicle repairs, by pocketing the new year bonus that should have been paid to staff, and by paying expenses for their children, among other fraudulent schemes.

The GCCC puts the total cost to the state of the two officials’ corrupt activities at eight million meticais (about 160,000 US dollars). The prosecutors have sent the case to the Maputo City Court for trial.

The GCCC also announced that a bailiff at the Maputo City Police Tribunal has been accused of corruption. This official notified a motorist that he was to pay a fine of 6,350 meticais: but rather than paying the money to the state through the normal channels, he struck a deal with the motorist to pay him the money.

Source: AIM