Independent auditor BDO expressed reservations about the 2020 financial statements of the Bank of Mozambique (BM) in its report published on Thursday.

The sapo portal writes that the same had already happened with the accounts for 2019, published by the WB in January.

When analyzing the 2020 accounts, BDO maintained some reservations

"Due to the fact that the predecessor auditors have issued an adverse opinion on the 2017 and 2018 financial statements (...) we are unable to provide assurance on the completeness, existence and accuracy of the opening balances, nor on their impact on the closing balances," reads the opinion of independent auditor BDO, signed dated Thursday.

At issue is the fact that in 2017 and 2018 the WB did not consider it "relevant" to consolidate the accounts of the subsidiary Kuhanha - Sociedade Gestora do Fundo de Pensões dos trabalhadores do banco central, which acquired a majority stake in Moza Banco, one of Mozambique's main commercial banks, previously intervened.

In a second point, the auditor states that the Mozambican state has never delivered to the BOM, since 2005, public debt securities provided by law in the amount of 9.2 billion meticais - nor has the central bank recognized the accumulated revenues of 12.9 billion meticais associated with this "state debt" to the market regulator.

In another note, it also points out that the Bank of Mozambique has not recorded 10.7 billion meticais in liabilities, in accordance with accounting standards, "thus affecting liabilities and equity by the same amount.

According to the report and accounts, the central bank closed the 2020 consolidated fiscal year with a loss of 1.3 billion meticais, an improvement over the previous year's loss of 4.6 billion meticais.