Former Mozambican transport minister Paulo Zucula was arrested on Tuesday on allegations that he received bribes in the approval of a tender to construct an airport in the north of the country.
The Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that Zucula was picked up in the capital Maputo in connection with a case involving the awarding of a tender to Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht to build Nacala International Airport in Nampula province.
He is alleged to have received a bribe amounting to US$135,000 to approve the tender.
He was arrested alongside Emilliano Finnochi, one of the founders and chief executive of Indico Dourado, a project and investment management company based in Maputo.
The arrests are part of an ongoing probe into allegations by Odebrecht that it made several illegal payments valued at more than US$900,000 to top Mozambican officials in order to get public works tenders.
Also implicated in the scam is former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang who is alleged to have received a US$250,000 bribe from Odebrecht.
Chang is already in prison following his arrest in South Africa early this year in connection with US$2 billion in fraudulent loans he negotiated on behalf of Mozambique, but which were never made public.
CM/jn/APA