Mozambique’s Financial Intelligence Office (GIFiM) has identified strong indications that travel and tourism agencies are being used in schemes involving money laundering, illicit capital flight and tax fraud, following an analysis of financial transactions worth approximately US$918 million between January 2022 and September 2025.
According to a Strategic Analysis Report cited by Lusa, GIFiM found that companies operating in the travel and tourism sector received and processed substantial sums of money, primarily through cash deposits, which were subsequently transferred to bank accounts in Mozambique held by an unidentified international organisation. From these accounts, the funds were then transferred abroad.
The analysis found that these companies processed large amounts of money through structured cash deposits and bank transfers, with cash deposits reaching at least US$378,000 per day before being transferred to accounts belonging to the same international organisation.
According to the report, the volume of cash handled appeared inconsistent with both the scale of business and the nature of the travel agencies’ activities, providing strong indications that some may have been used to facilitate illicit financial operations.
GIFiM argues that the mechanism enabled funds of illicit origin to be introduced into the financial system before being illegally transferred abroad through the international organisation in question.
The investigation examined 83 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), four Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), 1,526 additional information transactions, 68,739 threshold transaction reports and eight Financial Intelligence Reports (FIRs). The analysis identified credits totalling approximately US$918 million deposited into bank accounts held by the same international organisation.
The data also revealed a significant increase in the volume of funds transferred over the period, reaching approximately US$223 million during the first nine months of 2025 alone.
The report identifies 17 travel and tourism agencies located in Maputo City and the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado that transferred funds to the same international organisation.
It further states that several agencies used the personal bank accounts of employees—including senior managers—to process substantial payments into the companies’ own accounts, allegedly in connection with their business operations.
According to GIFiM, this practice may have facilitated the concealment of income from tax authorities while making it more difficult to identify the true origin of the funds.
The report also points to the existence of what appear to be fictitious travel agencies that recorded large-value bank transfers without evidence of providing services consistent with their registered business activities.
According to the analysis, the financial flows observed were incompatible with the normal commercial operations expected within the travel and tourism industry.
GIFiM further noted that most of the agencies carried out numerous high-value transfers in structured amounts to accounts held by the same international organisation, suggesting that this mechanism made them vulnerable to being used as vehicles for illicit capital exports.
The report also highlights the involvement of both Mozambican and foreign nationals in the transactions, the extensive use of cash deposits, and the existence of bank accounts belonging to recently established travel agencies that recorded financial activity inconsistent with normal industry patterns.
Based on the evidence gathered, GIFiM says there are reasonable grounds to suspect money laundering, tax fraud, document forgery linked to illicit capital exports and other offences, the full extent of which can only be determined through further criminal investigation.
As preventive measures, the Financial Intelligence Office recommends strengthening monitoring of transactions carried out by companies in the sector, conducting regular audits, increasing oversight by the Tax Authority and introducing stricter limits on cash transactions.
Source: Diário Económico
