Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
04MAPUTO636 | 2004-05-11 13:26:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Maputo |
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. |
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000636 |
1. (SBU) Summary: The verdict in the BCM bank fraud trial will be handed down on May 25. The case involves nineteen defendants accused of defrauding fourteen million USD from the Commercial Bank of Mozambique (BCM) between March and August 1996. Most commentators do not expect any senior bank officials to be implicated in the verdict. With preparations underway for the general election later this year, the verdict could still hurt FRELIMO, as they strive to present themselves as effectively fighting corruption. End summary. 2. (U) The Basic Elements of the Case: In this trial, nineteen defendants including a Maputo BCM branch manager, numerous other low-level bank employees, the Satar brothers (who were owners of Unicambios exchange house), and some Unicambios employees are accused of bank fraud. The Satar brothers, previously convicted for ordering the murder of investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso, are also alleged to be the masterminds behind this fraud scheme. The Satar family has dual Mozambican and Pakistani citizenship. Momade Abdul Satar, also known as "Nini," was sentenced last year to 23 years in prison for his involvement in the Cardoso murder. His brother, Tayobe, fled the country with his parents and is rumored to be in Dubai or Pakistan. The defendants are accused of perpetrating fraud involving sixty certified checks, totaling fourteen million USD, that were cashed at the branch in question despite insufficient funds. The branch manager had to override the computer system to allow the checks to be cashed, and he testified that senior managers, who were not standing trial, had to endorse the checks. 3. (SBU) Little Public Attention: The relatively uneventful BCM trial, which spanned from December 12, 2003, to March 24, 2004, did not provoke the same kind of reaction from common Mozambicans as the earlier Carlos Cardoso murder trial. While the trial generated much press coverage, the Mozambican public has not been following the case nearly as closely as the Cardoso trial just over a year ago. This is due in part to the technical aspect of the financial crimes involved and the public sense that the defendants on trial did not represent the true high-level political figures behind the fraud. Once the verdict is handed down later this month, the next of the big trial in the public eye will be the Siba-Siba Macuacua murder case, which is likely to prove more sensational. Macuacua, the Central Bank employee appointed as the CFO of Banco Austral, was thrown down the stairwell of the fourteen-story bank building in August 2001 while investigation a similar fraud purported to involve unpaid loans to senior government officials' family members and business partners. 4. (SBU) Higher Levels Seen as Untouched: Most observers cynically expect the trial to result in convictions of the current defendants, without frying any bigger fish. Among the board members implicated by the defendants is Teotonio Comiche, brother of current Maputo mayor and FRELIMO Political Commission member Eneas Comiche. None of the senior managers who provided testimony are currently under investigation, despite attempts by the lawyer for the main defendant to expose involvement of the well-connected former board members. The husband of PM Luisa Diogo, prominent lawyer Albano Silva, is the private prosecutor in the case, representing the board's interests (BCM has since been merged into BIM, Mozambique's largest private commercial bank. Many speculated that Silva's purpose from the onset has been to shield Teotonio Comiche and his fellow administrator, Augosto Candida, from prosecution. 5. (SBU) Death Threats and Accusations At The End: After months of complicated testimony centering on the bank's procedure, the testimony become more interesting towards the close. In the last week of the trail, Silva claimed that he had received numerous death threats on his cell phone. Additionally, the main defendant Vicente Ramaya, submitted a list of 69 individuals alleged to have benefited from the fraud. The testimony involved tales of large sums of cash being delivered in sports bags, and illicit trips to South Africa to deliver cash. In his closing statement, "Nina" Satar accused another BCM board member, Alberto Calu, of involvement in money laundering and lamented that the senior managers are too close to FRELIMO to be successfully prosecuted. For his part, Ramaya explained that at the time of his arrest in 1996, he was assured that he would be released on bail, which he was for a small amount. However, he claimed that his family received death threats. The dramatic closing arguments of Silva overshadowed those of the public prosecutor, Ana Maria Gemo. Silva vehemently denied accusations that he attempted to bribe the judge, and traded thinly veiled insults with the defense attorneys, including the accusation that Ramaya's attorney had tried to bribe Supreme Court Justices who would hear any appeal of the Cardoso verdict. He reminded the court of the assassination attempt on him in 1999 and detailed the text messages on his phone with death threats. 6. (SBU) Comment: The public has been largely disappointed with the trial and does not expect any surprises when the verdict is announced later this month. There has been little live television or radio coverage and the press took some time to give much play to the story. As opposed to the Cardoso Murder Trial which seized the country's attention in 2003, the complicated financial transactions at the core of this case failed to generate much public interest. Presiding Judge Achifaro Aboobacar will be transferred to the Nampula provincial court in June. He certainly will not be named man of the year in the press, as was the judge presiding over the closely-watched Cardsoso trial. 7. (SBU) Comment Continued: The BCM Trial highlights the mixed picture of the government's efforts to tackle corruption. On the one hand, the government did bring this case to trial prior to elections and allowed unfettered press coverage -- despite testimony that accused senior government and party officials of wrongdoing. At the same time, the case probably only moved forward through donor pressure and there is little sense that higher political and bank figures allegedly behind the fraud are likely to be charged. LA LIME |