Maputo, 15 Feb (AIM) – The management of the publicly-owned company Mozambique Airlines (LAM) has denied accusations of embezzlement of around 3.2 million dollars recently raised by Fly Modern Ark (FMA), the South African company which was hired by the government to bring LAM into profitability and rescue it from bankruptcy.
The alleged accusations include illegal payments via POS (point of sale) machines, installed at sales points, to the personal accounts of members of LAM’s management.
In a letter signed by LAM’s managing director, João Pó Jorge, addressed to the Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, the LAM management distanced itself from the statements made by Fly Modern Ark.
“We reiterate that this information was not previously shared with LAM’s general management, which was taken by surprise when the information was published in the media”, reads the letter.
According to the letter, LAM is concerned about the impact of the statements on the reputation of the company, and its employees, including the recertification audits due to take place later this year.
“We would like to inform you that LAM is always guided by the principle of legality, scrupulously observing the principle of the presumption of innocence, in order to guarantee its legal security in all the acts it carries out”, the letter says.
LAM’s top management says it is willing to provide any clarification that the Ministry of Transport and Communications may require.
LAM’s Restructuring Project Manager, Sérgio Matos, at a Maputo press conference last Monday, also pointed to a series of misdeeds detected by the FMA, including the diversion of fuel, which caused losses for LAM of around 3.2 million dollars last December alone.
Regarding the POS machines, the FMA claims to have carried out a lightning operation at 20 LAM ticket sales points, where it collected 81 POS.
Matos also said he was surprised when at the end of the day he visited some points of sale where he spotted two POS that apparently nobody could explain where they came from.
Under the FMA administration, the company resumed direct flights from Maputo to Lisbon, after an interruption of 12 years. It has also acquired its first Boeing 737-300 freighter, in order to meet the demand for the transport of goods.
(AIM)
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