Undue payments to beneficiaries of the Compulsory Social Security System, between 2017 and 2018, resulted in losses estimated at more than 400 million meticais for the National Social Security Institute (INSS).

Last week, the INSS issued a statement saying that the results of an internal audit had revealed undue payments, but it did not indicate the amounts involved, nor did it name the institutions (commercial banks) where these transactions took place. It explained that the payments are automatic, through Mozambique's Social Security Information System (SISSMO), and that the case has been referred to the justice authorities for proper handling.

The above amount is revealed by the newspaper Dossier and Facts which is said to have conducted an investigation to ascertain the amounts involved, as revealed by people close to the process.

The INSS is alleged to have been the victim of a scam orchestrated by a gang tripartite, namely officials from the institution itself with an excellent command of SISSMO, employees of some commercial banks and computer experts "hackers", says the weekly.

Hackers intercepted SISSMO when pension payments were made, entering bank account numbers that were not part of the pensioners' database.

The payments were drained into accounts domiciled in the cities of Maputo, Matola and Xai-Xai, and the same amounts were later withdrawn and even moved through mobile wallets.

The institution took around two months to investigate SISSMO in order to identify the tentacles of the scheme. It had the support of two companies that helped install the system. An INSS employee has already been arrested in connection with the scam. Employees of a banking institution whose salaries do not justify the fact that they bought luxury apartments in condominiums are also being investigated.