- Over MZN 900 million generated by the Office for the Management of Seized Assets
By Noémia Mendes
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Mozambique’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, through the Central Office for Asset Recovery (GCRA), seized assets valued at just over MZN 8.4 billion between 2020 and 2024. However, only 10% of that amount has been recovered in favour of the State.
Among the seized assets are 532 vehicles and 194 properties, according to Jorge Chivinge of the GCRA, who spoke on Monday in Maputo during the International Seminar on Asset Recovery and Fair Compensation for Victims, organised by the anticorruption think tank, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP).
Established in 2019, the GCRA began processing cases involving assets suspected to be proceeds of crime the following year. In its first year of operations (2020), assets worth MZN 614 million were seized, with the total increasing steadily in the subsequent years. The highest annual value was recorded in 2024, with seizures totalling MZN 4.4 billion.
However, the main challenge lies in the actual recovery of the seized assets – that is, their conversion in favour of the State. For instance, in 2024 only MZN 74 million worth of assets were successfully converted, representing just 1.6% of that year’s total seizures.
One of the reasons cited for the low recovery rate is the complexity of the legal procedures required before seized assets can be declared as belonging to the State. This process involves court rulings that must be final and binding, often following several appeals. Since its inception, the GCRA has handled 153 cases, of which only 71 had been concluded by 2024, Chivinge noted.
In parallel, the Office for the Management of Assets, under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, reported that it had accumulated MZN 911 million in bank accounts by 2024, as a result of managing the seized goods. This management includes auctioning assets, renting out properties, and allocating assets for public use (thus saving state resources). (NM)
