Justice Minister Announces Auction of 612 Properties Seized from Traffickers

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Justice and Public Safety Minister Sérgio Moro announced on his Twitter that 612 properties confiscated from drug trafficking ‘will soon’ go up for auction. Moro points out that the National Secretariat of Drug Policy (SENAD), a branch within the Ministry he heads, has released detailed information on the properties, including their location.

These are apartments, ranches, lands, buildings, plots, farms, warehouses and many other assets in all regions of the country, seized in lawsuits against criminal organizations.

All assets seized from trafficking are ready for immediate sale by the Secretariat for Coordination and Governance of Union Assets (SCGPU).

Moro told the story that ‘the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety’s strategy continues to be to expedite the sale of assets confiscated from drug trafficking’.

“Crime cannot pay. Auctions are a good opportunity for citizens to buy property and products at a discount,” the Minister argued.

To ease the access of interested parties to these assets, the National Drug Policy Secretariat launched a geo-referenced display with the exact location and detailed information on the 612 properties.

The display provided by the National Drug Policy Secretariat provides information on the properties lost to the Fund, in a georeferenced form, broken down by unit of the federation and city.

SENAD points out that, in practice, the display cuts red tape and makes it easier for these assets, lost in favor of the National Anti-Drug Fund (FUNAD), to be sold as soon as possible, generating funds for anti-drug policies.

The website enables access to consultations for any interested citizen, displaying state and city breakdown with high accuracy geographical coordinates.

“We make this information publicly available to reinforce the priority in the asset management carried out by SENAD. We are advertising the real estate under our administration as much as possible and we are currently in negotiations with SCGPU to sell most of them soon,” says Igor Montezuma, director of the portfolio’s Asset Management.

He adds. “We have already submitted 143 properties, in the most diverse locations, so that the Secretariat for Coordination and Governance of the Union’s Assets may sell them later this year, as agreed between the two bodies”.

There is information on the complete or incomplete judicial documentation of properties on the display, thereby showing whether there are any pending documents forwarded by the Judiciary to SENAD.

When the documentation is complete, the property may be auctioned, from a judicial perspective, and verification of the administrative requirements and procedures to effect its sale is then needed.

The display’s information is dynamic, varying according to the date of its transfer. When there is a new confiscation of assets in favor of the National Anti-Drug Fund, by judicial decision, the number of assets increases. Similarly, when auctions are held, this amount decreases.

The Fund’s real estate comes from the seizure of assets in criminal proceedings related to drug trafficking and other crimes under Law 11.343/2006 (Drug Law).

Its registration is made in the Gfunad system (a system that promotes the safekeeping and management of data on the Fund’s assets) based on information forwarded by the Judiciary to SENAD.

These assets are mainly intended for sale by auction, resulting in the collection of funds to be invested in actions and projects to fight and prevent drugs.