Box 3.6: High Profile Cases of Corruption in Mozambique 28 The case of Carlos Cardoso is a reference point in this regard. The privatisation of public enterprises in the 1980s was a bonanza to the government and party officials, who bought privatised companies cheaply and either kept them as investments or stripped them of their assets. Cardoso, publisher of Metical, investigated an apparent case of fraud in the Commercial Bank of Mozambique, the largest bank in the country, which was privatised in 1996. He uncovered an alleged fraud involving huge sums of money calculated at US$150–300 million. His investigations linked high government and party officials to the fraud, leading to the dismissal of the Prosecutor-General and some of his staff in July 2000. Whilst still insisting on the trial of those linked with the fraud, Cardoso was murdered in November 2000. Subsequently, following much public disquiet, the trial of those associated with the murder commenced in 2002. During the trial, Anibal dos Santos, the main accused in the crime, escaped from prison to South Africa, but was rearrested and returned to prison just before judgement was given in January 2003. All six accused persons were convicted of Cardoso’s murder and given jail sentences, but Dos Santos was able to escape again in May 2004. Rearrested in Canada, he was deported to Mozambique in 2005. The Supreme Court then ordered his retrial. Again, he was convicted and sentenced to a 30-year jail term. Powerful people named during the trial as having been behind the fraud and complicit in his various attempts to escape justice have, however, not been tried. This case remains a constant reminder of the impunity of high-level corruption and the high cost that high-minded crusaders could pay. The case of Siba-Siba Macuacua, who was assassinated in August 2001 while investigating fraud in the Austral Bank, a privatised institution, is no lesser evidence that the authorities lack commitment to fight corruption. 401. The CIRESP, with the Prime Minister as its chair, drives the anticorruption strategy assisted by a technical committee composed of representatives from the public sector, private sector, media, NGOs, professional associations and trade unions. In 2007, the National Anticorruption Forum was instituted to broaden participation in the anticorruption campaign. 402. Among the legal instruments available to fight corruption are the Anticorruption Law No. 6/2004, which together with Decree No. 22/2005, provides sufficient legal teeth for fighting corruption; Decree No. 30/2001, which prescribes norms or operational values for the public service; Law No. 4/90 and No. 21/92, which make it mandatory for the President and other high-ranking government officials to declare their assets to the Constitutional Council no later than 30 days after assumption of office; Law No. 9/98, which defines a code of conduct for public officials; Law No. 9/2002 on Treasury management, as amplified by Decree No. 23/2004; Decree No. 19/2005 on tax inspection; Law No. 7/2002 and No. 14/2007 on money laundering; and Decree No. 54/2005 on public procurement. In addition, Mozambique ratified the SADC Protocol Against Corruption in July 2004. The government also ratified the AU Conven- 28 Field notes, Mozambique, 7 February to 2 March 2009. 142 A P R M COU N T RY R EV IEW R EP ORT NO. 11