The director of Mozambique’s Financial Information Office (GIFiM), Aurélio Matavele Júnior, gave us an exclusive interview in which he revealed that, over the past year, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), commercial banks, insurance companies, property companies and car buying and selling companies, among others, have issued more than 3,000 Suspicious Financial Operations (SFO) reports.
Based on these alerts, the financial intelligence services carried out analyses that made it possible to expunge more than 2,700 warnings as not constituting a danger, and the remaining 300 or so gave rise to Financial Information Reports (RIF) and Strategic Analysis Reports (RAE), the total amount of which exceeds 136 billion meticals.
Below are the main excerpts from the interview with Aurélio Matavele Júnior.
How have GIFiM’s activities been going recently?
GIFiM is a financial intelligence unit and our mission is to receive Suspicious Transaction Reports (CTS), analyse them and disseminate them to the law enforcement authorities, namely the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), among others, in the form of Financial Information Reports (RIF). This is the product of our work. After that, the PGR makes the accusation and the courts pass judgement.
Do you also have a strong working relationship with estate agents and car salesmen?
We are a regulatory and supervisory authority for sectors that don’t have their own entity, in this case the property and car buying and selling sectors. We supervise these two sectors because they are high risk for money laundering.
But is it possible to have any control over the property sector, given that it often operates informally?
We only deal with those who are formalised, which is the bulk, I don’t think there’s much informality in this sector. As you can see, Joaquim Chissano and Angola avenues are full of car parks.
How do you get information about suspicious transactions?
When someone wants to buy a car and pays in cash, that raises suspicions. From then on, the sectors have an obligation to inform us.
How do you do this?
We have a way of communicating with these organisations through a platform called ‘Go e-mail’. When such a situation arises, they inform us through this means. From then on we take care of it.
But my question was about the property sector.
It’s the same. We’re connected via ‘Go e-mail’. All the entities that deal with buying, selling and reselling property are connected to us through this platform. They register here and then we exchange information.
Even the intermediaries we see concentrated on a few street corners?
If they don’t have a company and act individually, it’s difficult.
What about bank deposits?
If the customer exceeds the limits, the banks issue Communications of Thresholds, in the case of electronic transfers of amounts equal to or greater than 750,000 meticals and in the case of cash deposits and withdrawals of amounts equal to or greater than 250,000 meticals, from the entities with the duty to communicate.
And from here you can get to the point of origin of the business?
Yes.
What are the rates of communications you receive?
There are many and not all of them give rise to reports. For example, last year we had around three thousand Suspicious Transaction Reports (CTS). Of these, we produced 298 RIFs that were disseminated to the entities that have the mission of investigating further, producing indictments, as is the case with the PGR, and then forwarding them to the courts for judgement.
Of the 3,000 communications, which were the most critical areas?
It’s the banks, followed by requests from the PGR, who ask us for financial information, because when there’s a case that seems to be a suspicious transaction, they ask us for information.
Which sectors make up the majority of the 3,000 communications?
Banks, the property sector and car sales. Banks issue around 80 or 85 per cent of the reports.
Are people still taking risks?
Yes.
Compared to previous years, is the rate decreasing or remaining the same?
People are starting to realise that they don’t have to keep trying to make up stories. They have to work seriously because trying to bring illicit money into the banking system by buying property to try and cheat is not working. They buy the property and then sell it just to get the money into the formal financial system.
And Maputo is still the epicentre?
Yes, it is. Maputo, Nampula and Sofala.
What level is Maputo at compared to the other capitals?
More than 85 per cent of the CTS. Then there’s Nampula and Sofala, but here the whiteners aren’t very numerous.
Which province has the lowest rate?
Niassa.
How are the other provinces?
Tete and Zambezia have some outbreaks. Gaza has almost nothing. Inhambane also has very little.
What’s happening in Maputo in concrete terms?
Everything happens, including previous crimes such as corruption, embezzlement, trafficking in human organs and drugs. Nacala has more drug trafficking.
Jorge Rungo – Domingo
