Maputo, 9 May (AIM) – Fly Modern Ark (FMA) – the South African company hired over the last year by the government to bring the publicly-owned company Mozambique Airline (LAM) into profitability and rescue it from bankruptcy – on Thursday expressed its willingness to cooperate in the forensic audit of LAM’s accounts.
During its administration, FMA denounced and discovered the embezzlement of around 3.2 million dollars from the coffers of LAM. The Institute for the Management of State Holdings (IGEPE) then confirmed that there was embezzlement of the company’s funds, including the acquisition of properties in favour of some LAM officials, as well as bank accounts set up abroad and sales outlets (POS) held by people outside LAM.
The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has already opened a case to investigate the corruption cases and the hiring of FMA.
In a statement, FMA claims that it is open to collaborate but it argues that LAM’s problems are related to “internal networks responsible for theft and mismanagement.”
“FMA was appointed in a legal and transparent manner by the previous Mozambican administration to lead the provisional restructuring of LAM during a period of serious financial and operational instability. At no time have we been under investigation. On the contrary, our team has actively cooperated with the authorities and the judiciary”, reads the statement.
The company accuses the government of violating the agreement between the parties by only paying half of its final bill.
“As a result of this breach, FMA was forced to initiate legal proceedings, including the attachment of a residential property in an upmarket Johannesburg suburb, valued at three million rand. Despite these unresolved financial issues, we reaffirm our willingness to co-operate with the current government”, says the document.
LAM lost the equivalent of 22.1 million dollars in 2021, seven million dollars in 2022, 62.2 million in 2023, and 35.7 million in 2024.
Studies ordered by the government ruled out privatization of LAM as a solution. Instead, the government is selling shares in LAM to three reasonably healthy public companies – Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), which operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi; the rail and port company CFM; and the insurance company EMOSE.
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