Cardoso trio face fraud case

By Jose Tembe
BBC, Mozambique

A court in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, has charged over a dozen people with bank fraud involving millions of dollars that led to the murder of a prominent investigative journalist.

Cardoso trio would be tried for a bank fraud by the end of 2003

According to the Maputo daily paper, Noticias, three of those found guilty and sentenced to over 20 years imprisonment for killing Carlos Cardoso two years ago are to be tried this year in connection with a $14 million fraud in 1996.

The judicial court announced that the money disappeared from the former state commercial bank, BCM, prior to its privatisation seven years ago.

The trio were among the six men found guilty and sentenced last year to between 23 and 28 years in jail for killing Cardoso.

The court named the suspects as Mohamad Abdul Satar, his brother Ayob Satar and former BCM branch manager Vicente.

Illicit trade

Mr Cardoso was gunned down in Maputo in November 2000 as he investigated the fraud.

He was also at the forefront of the campaign against illegal trade schemes used to cover up drugs trafficking, money laundering and other illicit activities.

Dozens of other people, including prominent businessmen and relatives of the Satar family were also charged with the bank fraud, the biggest in Mozambique's history.

Meanwhile, seven policemen, including a senior officer, have been tried for their alleged role in last year's escape of Cardoso's key assassin Anibal dos Santos Junior - better known as Anibalzinho - a few days before his trial.

He was tried and sentenced in absentia to 28 years imprisonment.

Anibalzinho was recaptured in South Africa and extradited to Mozambique a day before the verdict.

The verdict in the case of the accused policemen is expected on 29 September.