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

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

9:59 CAT | 18 Apr 2025

Photo: AIM

Mozambique’s Central Office for Combating Corruption (GCCC) registered 334 new cases of corruption in the first quarter, potentially damaging the State by around €3.5 million, it announced on Thursday.

At a press conference in Maputo, GCCC spokesman Romualdo Johnam said that the 334 cases were in addition to 799 cases from last year that had been carried over, adding that of the total number of cases processed, at least 227 had been finalised by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, of which 147 were being followed up and 80 had been closed due to insufficient evidence to move forward.

Of the offences recorded, the following stand out: passive corruption with 130 cases, abuse of office or function with 54, embezzlement with 47, active corruption with 36 and simulation of competences with 28.

According to data from the GCCC, the cases registered harmed the state to the tune of 258,721,965 meticais (€3.5 million).

Among the cases processed in the first quarter of the year was a criminal case related to obtaining a refund of Value Added Tax (VAT) by falsifying documents by a fuel resale company in Tete province, which cost the state 81,228,180 meticais (€1.1 million).

Another case involves an employee of the National Social Security Institute (INSS) who used a computer system to transfer around 490 million meticais (€6.7 million) to personal and family accounts. Three people were arrested in connection with the case.

The GCCC spokesman acknowledged “challenges” in the procedural execution that culminated in the transition of 799 cases from the previous year.

“This is a challenge for us to ensure the speedy processing of cases, and there is a challenge for us to increase the number of staff, be they magistrates, investigators and other professionals, to ensure the speed of these cases,” said Romualdo Johnam, in the face of continuing allegations of corruption.

According to the most recent data from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, to which Lusa had access, the Mozambican state lost 413 million meticais (€6 million) to corruption in 2024.

This is a reduction compared to 2023, when the Mozambican state lost 716 million meticais (€10 million at the current exchange rate) in corruption cases, according to the Mozambican Attorney General’s Office survey.