Hidden debts: A witness who has lost his memory – AIM report

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Hidden debts: A witness who has lost his memory – AIM report

7:29 CAT | 21 Jan 2022

Image: Domingo

A witness in Mozambique’s “hidden debts” trial on Thursday was overcome with amnesia, and told the Maputo City Court he could remember almost nothing of what he had done as a non-executive director of the company Txopela Investments.

Txopela was effectively run by one of the main accused in the current trial, Antonio Carlos do Rosario, the former head of economic intelligence in the security service, SISE. The prosecution argues that Txopela played a key role in the money laundering scheme operated by the Abu Dhabi based group, Privinvest, and was one of the means whereby Privinvest bribes were channeled to Mozambican officials.

The witness, former SISE agent Taiob da Silva Cadangue, said Rosario was a childhood friend who invited him to become a director of Txopela in 2013. Or possibly in 2014.

For there are two deeds, both claiming to be the founding document of Txopela, one dated 2013 and one 2014, and both signed by Cadangue. He admitted that the signatures were his, but could not explain how one and the same company had been founded twice, in two consecutive years, with two contracts, both bearing apparently valid signatures.

“I have nothing to say about the two contracts”, he told prosecutor Sheila Marrengula.

“So Txopela was created twice?”, Marrengula asked him. “I don’t remember”, he replied.

Cadangue, owned one per cent of the shares in Txopela. He had never paid anything for them. Rosario had invited him into the company, “and I responded to the invitation”.

What did he do as a director of Txopela? “In practical terms, I had no duties”, he replied. As for remuneration, he said he received no payment from Txopela

He claimed he could not remember who the other directors were – and asked if he was still a director of Txopela, he again replied “I don’t remember”.

As for the circumstances that lay behind his appointment, “Rosario is the person who can explain this”, said Cadangue,

“Didn’t he discuss it with you?”, asked Marrengula. “No, he just informed me”, he replied.

Cadangue’s favorite replies were “I don’t know” and “I don’t remember”. He claimed to know nothing of the relations between Txopela and the Privinvest subsidiary Logistics International, and the Lebanese firm IRS, even though IRS had sent 9.4 million euros to Txopela. Indeed, IRS was supposed to be acquiring a majority holding in Txopela.

But Cadangue said he knew nothing about the relations between these companies, and did not know what the 9.4 million euros was to be used for. Neither did he know anything about Rosario’s sale of assets in Tete province to Txopela, or about the transfer of Txopela shares, although he admitted to signing share certificates.

Judge Efigenio Baptista tired of hearing the words “I don’t remember” over and over again, and reminded Cadangue that he was in danger of committing perjury.

For while defendants can say whatever they like in court, including downright lies, the same is not true of witnesses, who have a duty to tell the truth, and can be prosecuted if they do not. Baptista warned Cadangue that he was giving the clear impression of someone who did not want to reveal all that he knew about a company in which he had supposedly played a leading role.

The warning did not change Cadangue’s behavior. When Marrengula asked him about Txopela’s real estate activities, including a series of flats purchased in the Costa do Sol neighbourhood in Maputo, he once again knew nothing about the matter.

Baptista was also irritated by the Mozambique Bar Association (OAM), which is supposed to be assisting the public prosecutor. It was the OAM which had insisted that Cadangue be called as a witness – but on Thursday it changed its mind, and did not ask him a single question.

Source: AIM