Mozambique launches electronic auction platform for seized assets

The Mozambican government launched a new electronic auction platform through the Asset Management Office (Gabinete de Gestão de Activos, GGA) in Maputo.

Finance Minister Carla Loveira stated that the tool aims to improve transparency and efficiency in how the state manages public resources and assets recovered from criminal activities. The platform allows citizens and companies across the country to participate in auctions without traveling in person.

Minister Loveira explained that the digital tool is part of a broader suite of systems, which includes a business intelligence tool, a public monitoring portal, and an asset management module. These systems help the state combat corruption and money laundering by ensuring that assets from illicit activities are properly seized and managed. The first auction on the platform involves 14 seized vehicles.

The government set the starting prices for these vehicles at 70% of their appraised value, allowing for a minimum bid that is 30% below the appraised value. The money generated from these sales will go into the State Budget to fund public purposes. António de Vivo, the representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Mozambique, described the launch as an institutional milestone.

He noted that the project resulted from technical cooperation between the UNODC and Mozambican authorities that began in 2021. The authorities decided not to reveal the specific criminal origins of the items being auctioned to protect ongoing judicial decisions.