The revelation is made by the head of the Investment Center (CI) Headquarters, Antónia Carvalho, in response to an investigation by the bank's internal audit department due to suspicious deposits made in 2017, which were recently presented to the National Bank of Angola by the former vice - President of BFA António Domingues, who resigned last week.
In addition to having participated in a deposit operation in the amount of 21.8 million kwanzas, about 33 thousand dollars, also in 2017, and which raised suspicions, CI Headquarters manager, Antónia Carvalho, is involved in the deposit of 250 thousand dollars in the account of Manuel Paulo da Cunha, 'Nito Cunha', former director of the office of the former President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos.
"In the case of a very high cash deposit, suspicion about the origin of funds immediately arises, mainly because in the case of an official assigned to a State body, the origin of foreign currency earnings is not perceived. , in cash ", reads in the bank's internal analysis of this deposit, to which Lusa had access.
"We found by observing the deposit slip in foreign currency that the depositor's signature is not that of Mr. Manuel da Cunha, but that of the CI Headquarters Manager, Antónia Carvalho", adds in the document to which Lusa had access .
In the internal audit, the experts listened to several stakeholders, including manager Antónia Carvalho, who explained that the money was handed over by BFA administrator Manuela Moreira to be deposited in the 'Nito' Cunha account.
"The manager informed us that this is an amount he received from Drª Manuela Moreira at CI with an indication to deposit it in the account of Mr. Manuel Paulo da Cunha, having attached the document where he clarifies the origin of this amount, therefore the bearer of the money it was not Antónia Carvalho as stated in the bordereaux [document that explains the financial transaction] but Drª Manuela Moreira, who handed it over to CI ", the report reads.
"The manager Antónia Carvalho was unable to clarify by what means the value went from its origin to BFA, and she does not have a document that proves that this amount was actually withdrawn from the OIC (Another Credit Institution) - as the document mentions - nor did she initiate steps towards obtaining it ", is added in the document.
For the Compliance department, "this practice, in addition to indications of suspicion to those involved, exposes the bank to extremely delicate situations, that is, it may lead the bank to pay fines, for joint and several liability, as well as to indicate it for negligence, weakness of control, lack of rigor, including facilitator / cover-up of possible illicit schemes for the benefit of its employees ".
The participation of a bank employee, says the department, is more serious because it involves the bank itself in the operation suspected of being irregular and incurs a prison sentence of two to eight years, they point out.
"Since the employee is directly linked to the deposit operation, the situation is aggravated by the fact that the signature on the receipt and the justification of the origin of the funds in the declaration were not signed by the client, but by this one, and in the first instance we must separate completely direct interference in these situations, under the risk of ending up involved as accomplices or helpers (facilitators) of any illicit schemes, on the other hand, in the event that this client comes to be indicted for some unlawful situation, due to the direct participation in the case also collaborator Antónia de Carvalho will be indicted, listing the bank for being an employee ", warn the experts.
Following these facts, the analysis department recommended a set of operational improvements, starting with the training of branch employees in Luanda.
BFA announced on Monday that it will pronounce itself "in the next few days" on the reasons for the resignation of Portuguese manager António Domingues, from the position of vice president of the institution, following a complaint sent to the National Bank of Angola.
In a message sent to Lusa, BFA promises to publish, "in the next few days", a press note "with clarifications" about António Domingues, who last week resigned as vice president of the banking institution.
António Domingues, elected to the position at the beginning of the year, presented his resignation for "internal affairs of the Angolan bank", held 48.1 percent by the Portuguese BPI, a decision, the reasons for which were explained, by letter, to the Bank National of Angola (BNA).
BFA informs on its website that António Domingues and Otília Carmo Faleiro, at their request, have ceased their mandates as members of the governing bodies, with immediate effect, from 6 and 8 July, respectively.
In the letter, sent to the regulator, António Domingues expressed his concerns about the violation of the rules applicable to the banking sector of which he was aware, in particular the law to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as the code of conduct of the banking institution.
