The Mozambican Tax Authority is considering taking diplomatic action to ensure that the state recovers more than 239 million dollars in evaded taxes by the Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto.

The multinational is said to have sold its coal assets in Tete for well below the acquisition price and market prices. It declared 50 million dollars to the Mozambican state. It is suspected that information was concealed.

"The Tax Administration believes that the 50 million dollars had only one fiscal purpose, to evade taxation in Mozambique," according to the Coordinator of the Extractive Industry Taxation Unit, Aníbal Mbalango, quoted by Mozambican daily News.

This exercise in Mozambique is also linked to the inertia of the Australian state to subpoena and seize the company's assets there.

AT regrets the absence of a tax agreement that would make it possible to apply this measure and is considering using diplomatic means, aware that each state seeks to protect its interests.

"We are now looking for any assets that the company may have in Mozambique, so that they can revert to the state," he said.

The AT has already seized some of the company's assets in Mozambique and is looking for more. It also managed to recover 1.6 billion meticais.