Mozambique: Corruption harms State by over 250 million meticais – AIM report

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Corruption harms State by over 250 million meticais – AIM report

6:14 CAT | 21 Apr 2025

Image: MzNews

The Central Office for the Fight Against Corruption (GCCC) has announced that the corruption cases registered in the first quarter of 2025 have damaged the Mozambican state to the tune of 258.7 million meticais (about 4.1 million US dollars at the current exchange rate).

According to GCCC spokesperson, Romualdo Johnam, in the first quarter of this year the anti-corruption offices and prosecutors’ offices recorded 334 new cases, which were added to the 799 remaining from last year, totalling 1,133 cases compared to 961 in the same period last year. Overall, this is an increase of 171 cases, or an additional 15 per cent.

“Of the total number of cases processed, 227 were finalized, compared to 174 in the same period last year. There was an increase of 53 finalized cases”, he told reporters last Thursday, in Maputo, during a ceremony aimed at taking stock of the GCCC’s performance in the first quarter of this year.

Of the 227 cases completed, 145 led to charges (including of corruption, embezzlement and abuse of office) and 82 were dismissed.

READ: Mozambique: More than 300 cases of corruption in first three months of 2025 – Watch

Of the cases dealt with, the most noteworthy was a swindle involving the refund of value added tax (VAT), in the central province of Tete. A fuel resale company, said the GCCC, used forged documents resulting in a loss to the state of over 81 million meticais.

The fuel company (not named in the GCCC release) and three individuals were charged in July 2024 with the crimes of aggravated fraud, abuse of office or functions, forgery of documents and money laundering. A trial was held on 29 January, at which one defendant was acquitted, and two were sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment.

The defendants were also ordered to pay compensation to the state for the full amount of the fraud.

The GCCC regards the sentences as too lenient and has appealed against them. In particular, it objected to the court’s failure to confiscate the assets used by the fraudsters.

The GCCC also threw out the accusation made by the head of the Centre for the Development of Democracy (CDD), Adriano Nuvunga, against the chairperson of the main opposition force, the Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique (PODEMOS), Albino Forquilha, which alleged that he received a bribe of 219 million meticais from the ruling Frelimo party in order to abandon his opposition to the fraudulent results announced from the October 2024 general elections.

READ: Mozambique Elections: NGO denounces alleged bribe paid to Podemos party leader – Watch

The GCCC found that there was no evidence to back up the CDD’s accusation. “The accusation did not contain elements required by law, namely a clear description of the facts, identification of the possible perpetrators, place, time, circumstances and evidence”, the CDD explained.

Source: AIM