Mozambique: INSS case goes back to Appeals Court

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Mozambique: INSS case goes back to Appeals Court

3:23 CAT | 11 Aug 2022

File photo: Filha de Maputo

The Mozambican Supreme Court has sent back to the Higher Appeals Court (TSR) the case of alleged theft of funds from the National Social Security Institute (INSS), in which the main accused is the former Labour Minister, Helena Taipo.

According to a source in the Supreme Court, cited in Thursday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, this does not mean that the charges against Taipo and her seven fellow accused are being dropped.

The case is going back to the TSR, so that this court can take another look at the factual allegations against each of the accused. As soon as the TSR has corrected any mistakes in the case file, it will return to the Supreme Court.

In this case, Taipo is suspected of taking bribes of 100 million meticais (about 1.6 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate) in 2014, to favour certain building and printing companies in contracts with the INSS.

Taipo was Minister of Labour under former President Armando Guebuza from 2005 to 2014, and her Ministry supervised the INSS.

This case is quite separate from the scheme led by Taipo to defraud her Ministry’s Migrant Labour Department (DTM) of 113 million meticais. That case has already been heard and Taipo was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment, the maximum sentence for embezzlement.

Eight others were sentenced to between 12 and 16 years. It is likely that all will appeal.

Source: AIM