Mozambique: Police have no clues on murder of a GOE officer in Matola
Image: Notícias
Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) has launched an investigation into suspected money laundering in the city of Nacala-Porto in Nampula province.
On a recent working visit to Nacala-Porto special economic zone, Interior Minister Jaime Basílio Monteiro said there was evidence that this type of crime was on the rise in region.
“SERNIC should pursue the matter – money laundering forces us to act. If the investigation concludes that this is not happening, at least we will be clear that this crime is a thing of the past in that region and is no longer taking place,” the minister said.
As a special economic zone, Nacala-Porto has a combination of textile and clothing industries, leather and tannery, civil construction, production of building materials, cement and iron production, ceramics, machine assembly and lines of production, oil refining and agro-processing.
These companies move large sums of money, which are now being targeted by SERNIC, as there are indications of money laundering.
For the Minister of the Interior, this puts SERNIC to the test, as the entity is expected to be more aggressive in its actions.
“When we speak of money laundering we are talking about large sums of money, so we cannot have a weak spirit of investigation, because organised crime can use this to buy silence. On the other hand, in Nacala-Porto, where this matter is taken seriously, there are ideal conditions for a crime like this, so we are calling on our professionals in the area not to neglect it. It’s not just looking at ordinary crimes, but being aware of white-collar crime too,” Monteiro said.
In 2012 the Council of Ministers approved the National Strategy for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which aims to build and maintain a robust national financial system through the adoption of effective preventive and repressive measures against money laundering and terrorist financing, and protect the integrity of the national financial system through effective implementation of international normative standards as a contribution to a healthy regional and international financial system.
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