Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Portuguese criminal investigation police, Polícia Judiciária (PJ), today announced the detention in the Lisbon area of a 51-year-old man wanted by Mozambique’s judicial authorities on suspicion of criminal association, money laundering, document forgery, and breach of trust.
“As director of a company, between 2019 and 2023, [the man] ordered transfers to Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates, China, Japan, and Portugal totalling around 140 million US dollars, supposedly for the importation of goods that were never actually cleared through customs on Mozambican territory,” the PJ stated in a communiqué.
The individual (who does not hold Portuguese nationality) was wanted by Mozambican authorities for alleged involvement in highly organised crime, according to the police.
According to the PJ, the man, with the help of customs brokers, is suspected of forging customs clearance documents for goods and sending them to commercial banks to justify the transfers made abroad.
“A significant part of this amount originated from transfers and cash deposits by relatives of the detainee who collaborated with him, arrested for involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering,” the Portuguese Judicial Police also indicated.
According to the PJ, the companies were created for criminal purposes, mainly to conceal and disguise the origin of income from drug trafficking.
The detainee, who may face a sentence of 16 years’ imprisonment, will be brought before the Lisbon Court of Appeal for the application of a preventive measure.
