2 April 2026 –
A new civil society report by Center for Public Integrity (CIP), the Transparency International chapter in Mozambique, assesses the country’s progress in implementing its anti-corruption commitments under Chapters II (Preventive Measures) and V (Asset Recovery) of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Mozambique has been making steady progress towards building an anti-corruption framework that aligns with the UNCAC; however, weak enforcement and a lack of accountability for politically exposed persons continue to undermine legal effectiveness in practice. The report was produced with technical and financial support from the Global Civil Society Coalition for the UNCAC.
Since ratifying the UNCAC in 2006, Mozambique has gradually built a more comprehensive legal and institutional framework to address corruption. Several reforms have been introduced, including anti-corruption strategies for the public administration, legislation on asset declarations and access to information, and institutions such as the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption. There have also been improvements in the financial integrity framework. For example, reforms to strengthen anti-money laundering oversight contributed to Mozambique’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in 2025.
At the same time, the main challenge remains the gap between formal rules and their application in practice. Mozambique continues to rank poorly in corruption indexes, and several areas of the UNCAC framework remain weak in practice. Public procurement is still widely viewed as vulnerable to corruption, political financing lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework, and oversight bodies often face resource constraints or limited independence. Even where laws exist, such as those on whistleblower protection or conflict of interest, they are rarely effectively applied. Overall, Mozambique has made important progress in putting the legal framework in place, but implementation and accountability, particularly for politically exposed actors, remain key challenges.
Mozambique’s second cycle UNCAC review has been completed, and the corresponding executive summary and country review report have been published on the UNODC website. The review was conducted by Mauritius and Qatar, and a country visit took place from 16 to 18 May 2017. Civil society, including CIP, was consulted but remained largely excluded throughout the review process.
Read the full civil society parallel report in English here.
Main Findings
Preventive anti-corruption policies and practices
Mozambique has introduced a range of policies and measures to prevent and combat corruption, including new anti-corruption legislation and two national strategies for the public administration. The first strategy covered the period from 2006 to 2010, while the current one runs from 2023 to 2032.
In practice, though, the biggest challenge has been implementation. This is especially visible in cases involving white collar corruption, a lack of accountability of politically exposed persons, and the ability of authorities to gather evidence in corruption investigations. Over the past decade, politically exposed persons have rarely been held accountable in a meaningful way, which continues to weaken the overall impact of the strategy.
- Key recommendation: Improve oversight and transparency around the implementation of the anti-corruption strategies, including by regularly tracking progress and raising greater awareness of these policies among public servants and the public.
Preventive anti-corruption body
In Mozambique, each public institution has policies and practices aimed at preventing and combating corruption. At the same time, there is a specialized body dedicated to this work, the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption (GCCC). Created in 2004, it is designed as an independent and autonomous institution and operates within the structure of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, with offices in the country’s provincial capitals. Despite this structure, access to justice remains difficult in more remote areas, since there are no delegations at the district level.
At the same time, the way the Public Ministry appoints the leadership of the GCCC raises concerns about its independence. The institution also remains largely closed to civil society participation, particularly when it comes to monitoring corruption cases or sharing information with the public.
- Key recommendation: Strengthen the capacity and independence of the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption by expanding its presence beyond provincial capitals, increasing staff and resources, improving investigative tools, setting term limits for its leadership, and ensuring stronger cooperation with civil society.
Public sector employment
Although the law clearly regulates civil service recruitment through competitive examinations in which candidates compete on equal terms, these rules are often not followed in practice, and several cases of fraudulent admissions and related violations have been reported. The press has also reported alleged bribery in recruitment, particularly in the police, health, and education sectors.
- Key recommendation: Strengthen oversight and control of recruitment in the public administration to ensure hiring rules are followed, prevent bribery in civil service admissions, and make recruitment processes more transparent and merit-based.
Political financing
In Mozambique, there is no law regulating private political financing, leaving space for illicit funding. While public financing by the state is regulated, the framework still has several shortcomings, particularly when it comes to the accountability of political parties and presidential candidates. Parties and candidates must report to the National Electoral Commission, but the institution lacks the technical capacity and expertise to properly review and verify their accounts. This role would be more appropriate for the Court of Auditors, the 3rd Section of the Administrative Court in Mozambique, which in practice functions as the country’s court of auditors.
At the same time, the law on political parties has been in force for more than 30 years, since 1991, without any known reform addressing private political financing, while public financing remains only minimally regulated. As a result, mechanisms to monitor and control public spending by political parties and candidates for elected office remain weak.
- Key recommendation: Adopt clear rules and legislation on private political financing by introducing a law to regulate donations, updating the political parties law from 1991 in line with international standards, and giving the Administrative Court the power to audit party finances to reduce the risk of illicit funding.
Codes of conduct, conflicts of interest and asset declarations
While rules on codes of conduct, conflicts of interest, and asset declarations exist, they remain only partially regulated. In many institutions, codes of conduct are either very general or missing altogether, with only a few sectors such as the Tax Authority, the police, or the national teachers’ organization having more specific rules. While the law also addresses conflicts of interest, the mechanisms to detect and monitor them remain weak. The Central Public Ethics Commission, which is responsible for oversight, faces practical constraints and even operates from offices provided by the institutions it is meant to supervise.
Rules on incompatibilities and the acceptance of gifts by public officials are also set out in law, but their enforcement is uneven. In one case, a deputy minister was appointed to a second position that was legally incompatible with the first, and the situation was only corrected after public criticism. Separate controversies have also arisen around gifts offered to current and former presidents, which triggered complaints to the Central Public Ethics Commission and public debate about the application of the Law on Public Probity. These cases, widely reported in the media, illustrate both the limits of oversight and the role of society in prompting action.
Asset declarations by public servants are required by law, and the introduction of an electronic platform has improved the system. However, the platform does not require proof of ownership of declared assets, which creates a loophole. In practice, this means assets could be declared before they are actually acquired, potentially allowing them to be justified later even if obtained through corrupt means.
- Key recommendation: Develop clear, sector-specific codes of conduct for public institutions most exposed to corruption, strengthen monitoring of conflicts of interest and asset declarations, and give oversight bodies the power to investigate and sanction officials who fail to comply with transparency rules.
Reporting mechanisms and whistleblower protection
A law to protect whistleblowers was passed in 2012, but it has never really been put into practice. The Attorney General’s Office (Procuradoria Geral da República) has cited a range of reasons for this, from the lack of detailed regulations to insufficient resources for enforcing the protections the law provides. In the meantime, some alternative measures are used on an ad hoc basis, but they are not well-known, of questionable effectiveness, and do not offer whistleblowers the protection the law was meant to guarantee.
- Key recommendation: Put in place clear and accessible reporting channels for corruption and urgently implement the whistleblower protection law so people can report wrongdoing safely.
Public procurement and financial management
The procurement sector in Mozambique is still largely non-transparent and has been linked to several alleged corruption cases. While laws exist to promote transparency and curb corruption, repeated reforms have had little impact. Every year, public procurement remains one of the most corruption-prone sectors in the country. To tackle this, the government introduced an electronic platform, and the current president has pledged to set up a centralized procurement center to improve oversight and reduce corruption in public contracting.
- Key recommendation: Set up a central state procurement body to oversee public contracting, strengthen transparency, and reduce corruption risks in the procurement process.
Access to information and participation of society
Mozambique passed the Right to Information Law in December 2014 (Law No. 34/2014), which only became fully operational after its regulations were adopted in December 2015. However, after more than ten years, access to information remains limited. Public institutions often withhold information, whether proactively or in response to requests, reducing transparency in government and state-related activities. This is compounded by a lasting culture of secrecy, centralism, and fear dating back to the single-party period from 1975 to 1990, which makes it harder for citizens, NGOs, and civil society to engage in anti-corruption efforts.
The Strategy for the Prevention and Combat of Corruption in Public Administration is formally meant to include civil society, the media, and the private sector, but it gives little guidance on how they can participate in monitoring its implementation. In practice, collaboration with state institutions remains limited, as these bodies are often closed and difficult for civil society to access.
- Key recommendations: Strengthen access to information and public participation by fully enforcing the Right to Information Law and its regulations, including penalties for officials who refuse or fail to provide information of public interest, and by empowering the National Documentation and Information Center of Mozambique (CEDIMO) to investigate and sanction non-compliance. At the same time, ensure that civil society can engage in anti-corruption efforts freely, without restrictions or intimidation.
Judiciary and prosecution services
Mozambique’s judiciary includes the Supreme Court, appeal courts, provincial and district courts, and other specialized courts, while the Public Prosecutor’s Office is meant to be independent and autonomous. Over the years, steps like risk assessments, codes of conduct, training, and asset declaration systems have been introduced, along with laws such as the Judiciary Law (7/2009) and the Organic Law of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (4/2017), all aimed at strengthening integrity and fighting corruption.
In practice, however, the judiciary’s independence is limited. Leaders are appointed by the President, and funding comes from the executive, which undermines impartiality. High-profile scandals, like the 2013 “hidden debts” case where US$2 billion in secret loans enriched a few while the country suffered massive losses, show how vulnerable the system is. The lack of term limits and no restriction on magistrates taking political posts also make it harder for the judiciary to hold corruption to account.
- Key recommendation: Reinforce the independence of the judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office by limiting the powers of the presidency over them so that they become independent and autonomous. Prioritize the independence of the judiciary at all levels, with a primary focus on budgetary independence, legislating on it and defining specific and exclusive salary scales for magistrates.
Private sector transparency
The criminalization of corruption in the private sector is relatively recent (since 2019). There are still few reported cases of corruption in the private sector, although the numbers have been gradually increasing. The few reported cases stem from a lack of coordination between law enforcement entities and the private business sector.
- Key recommendation: Strengthen collaboration between the private sector and law enforcement by enhancing coordination through business associations, enabling the identification and reporting of more corruption cases in the private sector for proper investigation and the application of appropriate legal measures.
Anti-money laundering
The Mozambique Financial Intelligence Office (GIFiM) has strong legislation for anti-money laundering and rules on identifying beneficial owners in the financial sector. In practice, however, many financial institutions fail to comply, partly because the Bank of Mozambique lacks the resources to supervise all institutions. Weak enforcement and limited oversight left the financial system vulnerable, contributing to Mozambique being added to the FATF grey list in 2022.
After joining the grey list, GIFiM was equipped with specialized staff and new technology to improve its operations, helping Mozambique to be removed from the list in October 2025. A major ongoing challenge, however, is retaining skilled staff, as the private sector can offer better pay and benefits. On international cooperation, GIFiM has signed MoUs with several countries, but there is little public information on confiscated or repatriated assets, and the office does not publish annual performance reports.
- Key recommendation: Improve the salary conditions of GIFiM’s specialized technicians to prevent them from being attracted to the private sector, where they are guaranteed better remuneration and other material benefits, which leads to the weakening of the Mozambican state’s fight against money laundering.
Asset recovery and international cooperation
Mozambique has set up a legal framework for extended asset confiscation and recovery, including a law on international legal and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The country also created the Central Office for Asset Recovery, and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has a Technical Directorate for International Legal and Judicial Cooperation to handle requests for mutual legal assistance.
In practice, however, progress has been limited. So far, the PGR has published only one memorandum of understanding documenting asset confiscation and repatriation. Although it is legally the central authority for international cooperation in this area, annual reports from the Attorney General provide no information on cases where assets were actually confiscated or returned, either for Mozambique or for other countries. The reports list agreements with foreign states but do not indicate whether these have led to real recoveries.
- Key recommendation: Strengthen asset recovery through international cooperation for confiscation by continuing to sign bilateral agreements and treaties, approve the civil confiscation law to speed up recovery independent of final convictions, and publicly share information on confiscation, repatriation, and all international agreements via the Office of the Attorney General’s website, updating it whenever new treaties are signed.