Maputo, 09 Oct (AIM) – The Mozambican Association of Commercial Banks (AMB) has made it clear that the freezing of accounts and impoundment of balances based on suspicions of fraud or money laundering are strictly preventive measures, which means that subsequent procedural decisions depend on the competent authorities.
According to Samir Zacarias, AMB representative, speaking to reporters on Thursday, in Maputo, at a workshop bringing together financial regulators, commercial banks, and civil society organizations, Banks may adopt measures solely when identifying suspicious transactions as defined under applicable legislation, but the rest depends on the judicial decisions.
The explanation follows an official notice issued by the Bank of Mozambique, which points out that credit institutions may preventively freeze accounts and hold funds when detecting suspicions of banking fraud, money laundering, financing of terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
“For all account freezes executed by banks, a subsequent communication is formally dispatched to the Financial Intelligence Office of Mozambique, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Bank of Mozambique. Financial institutions do not determine the duration of freezes linked to suspected illegal activity. Those institutions hold the prerogative to define the duration of the freeze; they operate under legal deadlines to conduct required investigations”, he said.
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