A year on, the ‘insolvency’ of Cimentos da Beira leads to historic suspensions at the Bar Association

By Luis Nhachote

About a year and a half ago, we launched a journalistic investigation in which we exposed numerous irregularities in the proceedings that would culminate – in a surreal manner and with the approval of the judiciary – in the “insolvency” of Cimentos da Beira (CdB); as a result, the Mozambican Bar Association has just suspended six of its members involved in the case. Prior to this, a magistrate had already been demoted. The case has become a rare example of an investigation that has had repercussions across various institutions of the judiciary.

When the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CJI) published the first report in the series on 28 March 2025, “Cimentos da Beira: Falência ou a História de um Golpe?”, 

The aim was to answer a simple question: how could one of the largest industrial sites in the Central Region have been driven into insolvency proceedings shrouded in so much controversy?

In the investigation, which took place over several months and resulted in the publication of an almost episodic series – Seeaqui, aqui e aqui), We gathered court documents, commercial registers, contracts and other documentation to piece together a case that raised questions about the way the insolvency proceedings were conducted and about the actions of some of its key players. The facts we brought to light sparked debate within the legal profession and the judiciary, but the greatest impact was yet to come.

In March this year, around a year after the publication of the first report, the case had an effect that is rare in the recent history of the Mozambican justice system. Judge Leonild de Bruno Muhate, who had been involved in the insolvency proceedings, was subject to disciplinary action by the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ), which culminated in his demotion from provincial judge to district judge. It was a sign that the institutions were beginning to react to the facts that had been revealed. However, this was not to be the only consequence.

The case also laid bare a structural weakness in Mozambique’s insolvency system. It showed how a mechanism designed to protect creditors and reorganise companies can, when used in breach of legal principles, put companies, investments and jobs at risk even before it has been definitively established that those companies were insolvent.

Now, another chapter has been written

In Decision No. 05/PLCJ/2026, dated 26 June 2026, the Jurisdictional Council of the Mozambican Bar Association concluded a lengthy disciplinary proceeding relating to the case and imposed sanctions on six lawyers involved in it. The decision includes ten-year suspensions for the lawyers Ivan Pontavida, Milú Viana, Pererira Ferramenta and Anibal Quetane, and nine years and eight months for the lawyers Laurindo Saraiva and Anabela Lemos.

The ruling stems from a separate disciplinary proceeding conducted by the Bar Association, in which the conduct of the lawyers was assessed in the light of the duties of integrity, loyalty and professional ethics imposed by the Bar Association’s Statutes. Following the investigation of the case and the examination of the evidence presented, the Judicial Council concluded that several of the defendants had breached fundamental professional duties, and imposed the corresponding disciplinary sanctions upon them.

With this decision, the Cimentos da Beira case now occupies a unique place in the history of Mozambican investigative journalism. In just over a year, the facts revealed by the investigation have led to consequences in two distinct spheres of the administration of justice: first, within the judicial system, through the demotion of a magistrate; and second, within the self-regulation of the legal profession, through the disciplinary punishment of six lawyers. All that remains is the outcome from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which we expect to be announced shortly.

More than just the story of a company’s insolvency, the case has become a test of the institutions’ ability to scrutinise the conduct of their own members. And it is precisely this sequence of events that sets this investigation apart: the reports sparked public debate; the institutions, each within the scope of their respective powers, then provided their responses.

The ruling represents one of the most significant disciplinary proceedings in the recent history of the Mozambican Bar Association for several reasons. Firstly, it demonstrates that lawyers’ disciplinary liability can be assessed even when the facts stem from a complex legal proceeding, such as the insolvency of Cimentos da Beira. Secondly, the decision reaffirms that the practice of law is not limited to formal compliance with the law, but also requires respect for the principles of ethics, integrity, loyalty and professional independence. Thirdly, the ten-year suspension imposed on those concerned constitutes one of the most severe sanctions provided for under the Bar Association’s disciplinary regime, highlighting that the body considered the offences to be of exceptional gravity.

Finally, the ruling effectively brings to a close an institutional cycle that began with the journalistic investigation into the insolvency of Cimentos da Beira. Following the disciplinary proceedings against the judge who declared the insolvency, the case has also begun to have repercussions within the legal profession, demonstrating that various institutions within the justice system considered there to be sufficient grounds to investigate disciplinary liability in relation to the professionals involved. Will this also be the view of our Attorney General’s Office?