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Over £800k in illicit funds stored in a Jersey trust by a Mozambique civil servant are set to make their way back to the southern African nation to help combat financial crime.
Deception and bribery in Mozambique sparked a Royal Court case last year, after a civil servant from the African state received corrupt payment set up the Tolvex Trust in 1996.
Carlos Fragoso, formerly in charge of road and bridge maintenance in Mozambique, had set up the trust in 1996 and deposited the money into a Jersey bank account.
A press statement from the Law Officers' Department yesterday said that Jersey's Attorney General and the Vice-Attorney General of Mozambique had agreed to return over £829,500 to the Republic of Mozambique.
This is the first asset return arrangement entered into by Mozambique.
Pictured: Jersey’s Attorney General Mark Temple KC and The Vice-Attorney General of Mozambique, His Excellency Alberto Paulo.
The statement explained: "Carlos Fragoso settled monies into the Tolvex Trust in 1996 stating that he was a civil engineer seeking to benefit his family with savings from his former earnings.
"However, during his career he had held several high-profile positions, including the Directorship of the National Directorate of Roads and Bridges and the Presidency of the National Road Administration.
"In 2013, the Royal Court found that Fragoso had settled another Jersey trust using the same deception as to his employment and Source of Income.
"The court found that his assets were the proceeds of bribes paid to him by firms wanting to secure construction contracts in Mozambique."
This led to a suspicion that the Tolvex Trust may also contain tainted funds resulting from bribery and corruption.
The Mozambique authorities and the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit in Jersey's Law Officers' Department successfully applied for forfeiture of the funds held by the Trust.
Pictured: Jersey's Attorney General Mark Temple KC.
The returned assets will now be used by Mozambican authorities to combat financial crime by supporting the development and expansion of key enforcement agencies.
The funds will also be used to support the delivery of a five-day training course on international and judicial cooperation in criminal matters to sixty trainees drawn from all eleven provinces of Mozambique.
Jersey's Attorney General Mark Temple KC said: "I am delighted that Jersey has been party to Mozambique's first asset return agreement which will result in the strengthening of law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies in Mozambique."
The Vice-Attorney General of Mozambique, His Excellency Alberto Paulo, added: "We are honoured to receive funds that were illicitly diverted from Mozambique and hidden in the Bailiwick of Jersey, which have been recovered as a result of exemplary co-operation with the authorities of the Bailiwick of Jersey."
African civil servant stashed bribes in Jersey trust
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