Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican state will on June 9th attempt to sell at a public auction more than 100 vehicles seized in the course of criminal proceedings, according to a notice seen by Lusa today.
The Asset Management Office of the Ministry of Finance will host the auction in Maputo under the Special Legal Regime for Extended Loss of Assets and Recovery of Assets, and attempt to sell 112 seized vehicles that are distributed across five parks in the Mozambican capital.
At reserve prices, the Mozambican state will raise at least 33.7 million meticais (€465,000) overall.
“The assets to be sold through this notice, in accordance with the aforementioned legislation, are subject to a 30% discount in relation to their appraised value,” the notice also states, which provides for, among others, the sale of a BMW X5 given the reserve price of 686,000 meticais (€9,500), a Volkswagen Touareg for 910,000 meticais (€12,600) and a Mercedes Benz for more than one million meticais (€13,800).
The regulations require that bids be submitted by sealed letter by the start of the public auction session on June 9, then allowing “verbal bids” from accredited participants “considered qualified” for the process.
The Mozambican Asset Management Office generated almost US$7 million (€6.1 million) for the state in 2024 from auctions and assets seized in criminal proceedings, the head of the body revealed this month.
“The progress is significant as we can see from the numbers, which speak for themselves: between revenues and savings for the state, the Asset Management Office generated almost US$7 million in 2024, compared to around one million dollars [€884,000] in 2022,” Alda Manjate said during a visit by President Chapo.
For the representative, quoted in a statement from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has supported this entity, justice is done “by going into the pockets of criminals”, guaranteeing that currently “these asset management processes are part of crime prevention”.
According to Alda Manjate, the amount comes from actions such as auctions, asset allocation for use in public entities and the leasing of properties and companies in favour of the state. She also explained that, by 2026, the body is expected to have seized 170 illicit assets “intended for public services” and 300 already auctioned.
“And with all this, what do we intend to do? Convert assets of criminal origin into resources for the development of Mozambique. Prevent crime through a clear message: crime does not pay,” stressed Manjate.
In turn, Daniel Chapo argued that “crime does not pay at any time”.
“We can have 20 cars, we are not going to drive (…) at the same time, we are always going to use one vehicle at a time. So why do we need 10 or 20? Especially if they were acquired through illicit means,” the head of state added.
In 2024, the former Ministry of Economy and Finance of Mozambique – since January this year, Economy and Finance have been separated into different ministries – began to manage assets and goods seized or recovered in favour of the state within the scope of illicit or criminal activities, in accordance with the review of the attributions and competences of that body.
The measure was contained in a presidential decree from March of last year, which recognizes the “need to review the attributions and competences” of that Ministry.
Specifically, regarding the attributions that are already in force, among others, the Ministry assumed the “administration of assets and goods seized or recovered in favour of the State, within the scope of national processes or acts arising from international legal and judicial cooperation”.
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