Mozambique’s Attorney General’s Office (PGR) is investigating allegations of a scheme to embezzle money from Mozambique Airlines (LAM) through automatic payment terminal (POS) machines that do not belong to the company. The Attorney General, Beatriz Buchili, said that two processes are underway at the Central Office for Combating Corruption (GCCC), one investigating irregularities in the management of the company and the other investigating the installation of the POS in LAM’s sales outlets and the ownership of them. Both cases involve some of the company’s managers and are currently being investigated.
In February, the consultancy Fly Modern Ark, hired by the government to recover LAM, denounced the scheme to embezzle money from ticket stores, where the POS machines were not recognized by the managers of the establishments. An inspection process identified discrepancies between the number of tickets sold and the amount actually received, reaching a deficit of 3.2 million dollars in December alone.
In addition, suspicious cases were found in the collection of cash in stores and in the supply of fuel to aircraft, including one aircraft being filled with 95 tons instead of the maximum 80 tons. Also discovered was an account in Malawi with 1.2 million dollars, with no known access by the company, and cases of employees using company funds to buy their own homes.
LAM is undergoing a revitalization process, with South African company Fly Modern Ark (FMA) managing it since April last year, following years of operational problems related to a reduced fleet and lack of investment.
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