The Central Office for Combating Corruption (GCCC) has opened two investigations into different episodes surrounding the company Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM). The cases also include corruption schemes involving illegal POS payments.

Domingo newspaper reports that the first case, numbered 06/11/P/GCCC/2023, was filed in January 2023 and concerns facts related to fleet management, especially the sale of aircraft, their rental and the company's indebtedness for the acquisition of new equipment, maintenance operations, as well as supplier contracting processes, the legitimacy of invoices paid and the sale of the company's corporate assets.

"Within the scope of this process, it appears that LAM and other institutions have collected a wealth of documentation related to the facts that are still being processed," says a note from the office quoted by the newspaper Sunday.

In addition, in July 2023, among other measures, the GCCC asked the General Inspectorate of Finance and the General Inspectorate of Public Administration to carry out audits of LAM's management accounts, whose reports are still awaited.

"The facts occurred in five foreign jurisdictions in addition to Mozambique, which required international cooperation to obtain evidence," he said.

Another ongoing case relates to the purchase of airline tickets at LAM stores using POS terminals belonging to third parties and also the under-invoicing of fuel purchases on the Maputo-Lisbon flight, which resulted in the opening of case number 21/P/GCCC/2024, with a view to clarifying the material truth.