Amabélia Chuquela, Chefe do Departamento Especializado para área Criminal da Procuradoria-geral da República, discursa na abertura do Seminário Sobre Gestão de Activos
Maputo, 26 Nov (AIM) – The Mozambican Attorney-General’s Office (PGR) has called on the bodies of the administration of justice to ensure the recovery of assets from criminal hands in cases of the embezzlement of public funds and organized and transnational crime.
According to Amabélia Chuquela, head of the Specialized Department for Criminal Matters at the PGR, who was speaking on Monday, in Maputo, during a Seminar on Asset Management under the motto: “How Inter-Institutional Coordination Can Contribute to Increasing Effectiveness in Asset Recovery and Management”, the authorities are developing actions to identify, track, seize and recover assets, instruments, products and proceeds of any nature related to illegal activity
“It is necessary to demonstrate that crime does not pay, attacking its fundamental driving force, namely the proceeds of crime and assets. It is necessary that the initial investigation and seizure be efficient, timely and rigorous so that the Asset Recovery Office (GCRA) achieves the desired success,” she said.
Chuquela also said that confiscated assets must be preserved and revert to the State before they are dissipated and lose economic viability.
For her part, Gracinda Muiambo, presiding judge of the Maputo City Law Court, said that the country is experiencing challenging times, where the illegal economy and criminal networks represent a threat to the integrity of the national financial system, as well as to political stability and sustainable development.
“The recovery and management of assets, especially those originating from illegal activities, requires an integrated and collaborative approach among all institutions that make up the country’s judicial apparatus,” she said.
She explained that collaboration between institutions is key to creating robust and efficient systems.
Deputy Attorney-General Jorge Chivinge announced that, since the creation of the GCRA in 2019, the seized assets, including movable and immovable property, vehicles, and cash money have reached a total amount of 8.7 billion meticais (about 136 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate”.
“From the seizure of assets since the creation of GCRA in 2019 until 2025, we had 932 vehicles, 203 properties, 7,638 movable assets, and other goods. These assets, added together, total 8.7 billion meticais”, he said.
According to Chivinge, asset recovery in Mozambique is a consequence of international recommendations reflected in the United Nations conventions against corruption, and against organized and transnational crime, and the African Union Convention on the Prevention of Corruption, among other protocols.
These conventions, he said, recommend that States adopt measures in their domestic legislation to trace, freeze, and confiscate assets, instruments, products, and proceeds resulting from criminal activity.
“Nowadays, it is clear that, in addition to the application of classic penal measures – such as prison sentences or fines – the recovery of assets such as real estate, vehicles, money, and valuables acquired with the proceeds of crime is crucial to strengthening the State’s presence in the prevention and combating of crime, and also to show that crime does not pay,” he said.
He explained that asset recovery aims to deprive the perpetrator of the benefit they gained from criminal activity and restore them to the situation they were in before committing the crime, as well as to deter others from committing new crimes.
(AIM)
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