Mozambique: Counterfeit money circulation worries business owners in Nampula

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Mozambique: Counterfeit money circulation worries business owners in Nampula

3:37 CAT | 30 Apr 2025

Image: Wamphula Fax

Some owners and managers of food establishments in the city of Nampula, including bars, bottle stores and stalls selling alcoholic beverages, are concerned about the alleged circulation of counterfeit currency there.

According to what Wamphula Fax has learned, counterfeiters take advantage of periods of greater customer flow in these establishments to circulate counterfeit notes, for preference the 200 and 1,000 metical notes in the new series recently launched by the Bank of Mozambique.

At the end of last week, our reporter heard the complaint of a bottle store owner, who claimed to be a frequent victim of this type of scam.

“Someone used this note to buy beer. I don’t remember who it was, because the establishment was full. But I later discovered that the note was fake due to the quality of the paper, which is very light compared to the real metical,” reported the anonymous owner of an establishment near the New Hotel.

Another citizen, who also did not want to be identified, told our newspaper that two young men were recently arrested by the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), in the city of Nacala-Porto, and charged with manufacturing counterfeit notes of the national currency.

“They had a machine that printed counterfeit notes at home. They were discovered in one of the nightclubs when they tried to pay the bill using these notes, and the manager ended up asking the authorities to intervene,” revealed the source.

Some mobile wallet agents are also on the list of preferred victims of counterfeiters.

In the first three months of this year, the PRM in Nampula reported the arrest of several individuals suspected of involvement in currency counterfeiting cases.

For example, in March, the PRM District Command in Monapo announced the arrest of three individuals caught red-handed paying for products and services with counterfeit notes.

In February, the PRM arrested a suspect also involved in counterfeiting the national currency, who at the time was in possession of 63 counterfeit notes of various denominations, including 20, 50 and 1,000 meticais.

Source: Wamphula Fax