Maputo, Dec. 12, 2025 (Lusa) - The public prosecutor's office in Maputo, the Mozambican capital, has filed 13 criminal cases against car dealerships selling imported vehicles, on suspicion of criminal offences that have cost the state around 688.4 million meticais (€9.1 million).
In a statement seen on Friday by Lusa, the Maputo prosecutor's office said that investigations had found that the companies' main activity was the import and sale of used cars, as well as accessories and lubricants, from Japan, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and the United Kingdom, requiring the use of international legal and judicial cooperation mechanisms in the investigation.
The Mozambican authorities say that it was possible to discover that part of the payments from the sales of the cars was made into the private accounts of the partners and/or employees of these entities, as a way of "evading" their tax obligations, and then they reported a low volume of sales in their income tax returns, concealing revenue and other relevant tax information.
"Between 2019 and 2024, the companies imported several vehicles, using under-invoicing for the clearance process, with the aim of not paying the applicable customs duties and other taxes," the statement says.
Due to "evidence of criminal, tax and customs offences," the criminal investigation judge ordered the provisional suspension of activities, thereby determining the temporary closure of the establishments in question, according to the same document.
"The conduct of the entities in question caused losses to the Mozambican State totalling 688.4 million meticais (€9.1 million), of which 176.8 million meticais (€2.3 million) relate to external taxes and 511.5 million meticais (€6.8 million) correspond to internal taxes evaded from the Tax Administration," the authorities estimate.
The public prosecutor's office also explains that once the investigation into customs and tax offences has been completed, the cases will be referred to the Tax Court and Customs Court of Maputo City for consideration of the crimes of tax fraud and embezzlement, for the collection of taxes owed to the State.
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