Mozambique: Over 100 assets seized in criminal acts were handed over to the State

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Mozambique: Over 100 assets seized in criminal acts were handed over to the State

5:01 CAT | 27 May 2024

Image: Notícias

The Mozambican judicial authorities have handed over more than 100 assets recovered from “criminal” activities to various civil service entities, the deputy minister of the economy and finance announced on Wednesday.

“The Central Asset Recovery Office, recently created at the ministry of the economy and finance, has already evaluated and allocated the movable and immovable assets,” said Carla Louveira, in Maputo, during the launch of the management portal that will provide comprehensive information on the operations and results of the office.

Among the assets handed over, the deputy minister highlighted 19 properties allocated for use by various public administration entities and 12 rented properties.

“To date, 48 vehicles seized from criminal organisations have been allocated to public administration bodies working in the security, health, education and prison sectors, as well as to Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service [SERNIC],” she said, adding that 24 seized refrigerators had also been handed over to Maputo Central Hospital in the country’s capital.

Carla Louveira pointed out that these allocations “demonstrate very clearly how the illicitly obtained and recovered assets can be used to benefit (…) society”.

READ: Mozambique: An auction of seized assets will be held tomorrow – Notícias

Since April 2023, Mozambique’s Central Asset Recovery Office has recovered more than 1,385 million meticais (€20 million) from illicit sources, according to figures from the Public Prosecutor’s Office last month.

The figure represents an increase compared to the previous period, when assets estimated at 1,149 million meticais (almost €17 million) were recovered, reads a document that takes stock of the work of the Mozambican public prosecutor’s office over the last 12 months, to which Lusa had access in April this year.

In total, during the period in question, the Mozambican public prosecutor’s office processed a total of 84 asset and financial investigation cases, with at least 25 having been concluded. Among the assets seized were 30 properties and 48 vehicles, as well as an amount of around 214 million meticais (€3 million).

Source: Lusa