Maputo — The former director of Infrastructure Services in the northern Mozambican Province of Nampula, Gil de Carvalho, was detained on Monday for allegedly ordering the sale of state property to his relatives.

According to Aristides Maizama, spokesperson of the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption in Nampula, de Carvalho was detained for being involved in a sale of state property to his relatives, precisely his brother-in-law, son and wife.

"Following a complaint, which resulted in an enquiry, we found that assets had been sold in the cities of Nampula, Nacala and Angoche. The disposal contracts signed with the State Property Management Agency (APIE) are irregular, as most of them were not dated, which substantially jeopardizes the contracts', Maizama said.

The authorities have found that eight properties had already been registered in the name of private individuals and "we realized that they were relatives of the former director of the Provincial Infrastructure Service.'

He explained that investigations are underway to find more evidence.

The sales took place between 2022 and 2024, and various acts were identified that violated administrative procedures in the process of disposing of state property.

Legal proceedings are underway for the cancellation of these registrations and the subsequent recovery of the properties as state assets.