Authorities in Portugal, Brazil and São Tomé
are now providing information to the Mozambican attorney general about alleged
corruption in the purchase of two Embraer aircraft by Mozambican Airlines,
according to an official source quoted by daily newspaper Notícias.
The authorities of the three countries
responded to a request in connection with alleged corruption during the
purchase of the aircraft between 2007 and 2009.
“It is a long road, but it is being driven.
We are pleased that there is cooperation from the countries we requested
information from,” the source said.
In addition to the three countries mentioned
above, the Mozambican attorney general, who has already charged three
defendants in the case, also requested information from France, the United
States and the United Kingdom, who said they were still working on the
information requested.
Brazilian court documents released at the end
of last year show that Embraer paid US$800,000 (EUR 741,000) to managers of
national airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) and an intermediary, also
Mozambican, for the sale of two aircraft in 2009.
The amount was deposited into the São Tomé
and Príncipe account of a fictitious company created as part of the suspected
corruption scheme, one of a number of illicit payments that the Brazilian
manufacturer is alleged to have made in several countries.Last week, Brazilian officials took evidence
from people directly involved in the aircraft acquisition process at a hearing
that attended by prosecutors from the Mozambican attorney general’s office.
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