Maputo - Mozambique's Public Prosecutor's Office has announced the recovery of almost 3.9 billion meticais from illicit activities since 2020. This milestone was reached with the creation of the Central Asset Recovery Office (GCRA), an initiative that has proved effective in combating corruption and economic crime in the country.
According to Sérgio Macuácua, Mozambique's public prosecutor at the GCRA, the amount recovered includes financial assets, as well as immovable and movable property. This year alone, the figure amounts to about 1.3 billion meticais, exceeding the 1.1 billion meticais recovered in 2022.
The data were revealed during the GCRA's first meeting, which is taking place in Maputo and will end tomorrow, Tuesday. In its first year of activity, in 2020, the GCRA managed to recover approximately 615 million meticais, and in 2021 the figure rose to more than 734 million meticais.
The Attorney General of the Republic, Beatriz Buchili, expressed concern about Mozambique's position among countries with low rates of asset recovery. In response, prosecutor Sérgio Macuácua said the country is making consistent progress towards leaving the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a classification that has negative impacts internationally.
Beatriz Buchili stressed the need for coordinated action among all the bodies involved in the asset recovery process, underlining the negative implications of this situation for Mozambique globally.
The meeting in Maputo serves to assess the work done by the GCRA since its establishment, with the aim of improving understanding of the office's legal powers and strategic direction. This multisectoral body, approved by the Government in February 2022 and answering to the Public Prosecutor's Office, has as its main duties the investigation, tracing, seizure and recovery of assets, playing a crucial role in combating corruption and economic crime in Mozambique.
