Maputo, April 22, 2026 (Lusa) – Money laundering cases in Mozambique rose by 19.4% to 228 in 2025, with the public prosecutor's office freezing 4.052 billion meticais (€54 million) in monetary assets, authorities announced on Wednesday.
Presenting the 2025 annual report to parliament, Attorney General Américo Letela said that 228 money laundering cases were registered in 2025, compared to 191 the previous year. Including 428 cases carried over from the previous year, officials analysed a total of 656 files in 2025. Of these, 59 were concluded, 43 were archived, and the remainder are following legal proceedings.
"We continue to observe the movement of large sums of money of unknown origin, often deposited in cash in small amounts or via bank transfers, and subsequently withdrawn rapidly, frequently under the pretext of importing goods or purchasing furniture, through over-invoicing, or via property investments, or, more recently, through the purchase of crypto-assets," he said.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary in Paris removed Mozambique from the international "grey list" for money laundering on 24 October, three years after its inclusion. Mozambique had been on the FATF international "grey list" for money laundering since 2022. However, the government announced mid-year that it had met all recommendations for its removal, aiming to maintain this status in future evaluations.
Following these achievements, the public prosecutor's office is calling for concrete action to protect the economy and prevent a return to the list. It said that the country's removal has strengthened its institutional credibility.
Letela also said that since the start of the terrorist attacks, at least 462 people have been convicted of this crime, calling for concrete measures for “deradicalisation” following release from prison.
"It is pertinent to reflect on the creation of a centre for the deradicalisation and rehabilitation of terrorists and violent extremists," he said. He explained that such a facility would focus on psychological rehabilitation, the deconstruction of extremist ideologies, and social reintegration.
He said that the fight against terrorism remains complex due to foreign financing and stressed the need to strengthen inter-institutional coordination, improve strategic information sharing, and bolster investigative capacity.
"These groups use various methods for self-financing, including placing barricades on roads connecting districts and administrative posts to force drivers and passengers to hand over money," he said. He requested specialised court sessions in Cabo Delgado to handle these cases.
Gas-rich Cabo Delgado province has faced extremist attacks for eight years, with the first recorded on 5 October 2017 in Mocímboa da Praia district.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data monitor, ACLED, estimates that Cabo Delgado recorded three violent events in the last two weeks. Two involved Islamic State extremists and resulted in three deaths, bringing the total death toll since 2017 to 6,518.
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