During the session of the trial of the 'Grecima Case' that has Manuel Rabelais, former Minister of Social Communication, as the central figure, the former governor of the BNA, who was heard as a witness, explained that Grecima made "basically a request" to the BNA to obtain the foreign exchange.
Válter Filipe explained that in the request, the office specified what type of activities would be funded, giving the example of the purchase of cars for public media organizations or to pay expenses for the last elections.
Cited by Angop, the declarant also made known that the currencies were sold directly to Grecima. The commercialization of the currencies was made under the National Plan for Exit of the Crisis, approved in 2015 by the Executive, he added.
According to Válter Filipe, the sales were made through accounts abroad, between banks in which the BNA and commercial banks involved in the transactions had accounts.
The former governor of the BNA also revealed that he approved the mobilization of Net International Reserves, to achieve the direct sale of foreign currency to public and private institutions, including Grecima. On the other hand, the central bank received the counter value in kwanzas, through the commercial banks where Grecima and the other entities had accounts, he said.
In his testimony, Válter Filipe said he did not know that the money made available to Grecima was being sold, stating that this commercialization violated the rules of foreign exchange.
In the session, Manuel Rabelais stressed that he used the money to respond to the government's communication strategy. This money was used to pay companies that provided services to promote and improve the country's image abroad.
Manuel Rabelais is accused of the crimes of embezzlement in a continuous manner, violation of rules of execution of the plan and budget and money laundering, committed between 2016 and 2017, when he still held the position of director of the former Grecima.
In the case, it is also defendant Hilário Santos, the then administrative assistant of Grecima. According to the indictment, Manuel Rabelais, aided by Hilário Santos, transformed the office into a currency exchange office, "soliciting companies and individuals to deposit kwanzas in exchange for foreign currency.
