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Revision of the EU rules on asset recovery and confiscation
The confiscation of criminals' illicit profits is considered an effective tool in the fight against organised crime, identified as a major threat to EU security. However, despite the comprehensive set of EU rules on asset freezing and confiscation, there are still obstacles on the path to recovering criminal assets, as shown by the European Commission's June 2020 evaluation of the 2014 directive on freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime and the 2007 Council decision ...
Confiscating Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction: Mission impossible?
The Russian invasion has caused huge destruction of life and property in Ukraine. Reconstruction will be a long and costly process, and the EU and others are already marshalling funds for this effort. Some EU leaders have expressed support for using frozen Russian central bank (RCB) funds towards reconstruction, but it is unclear if this will actually happen. There are recent examples of sovereign assets being confiscated and used to compensate victims of injustice, but the confiscation of Russia's ...
Revision of Directive 2014/42/EU on the freezing and confiscation of the proceeds of crime and proposal for a new directive on asset recovery offices
Confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime is a key tool for depriving criminals of ill-gotten gains that could be reinvested in further criminal activities. Directive 2014/42/EU on the freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime was adopted in 2014 to harmonise the rules by introducing minimum standards. In 2019, following a joint statement by the Parliament and Council, a dedicated staff working document on non-conviction based confiscation measures in the ...
Law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
On 1 May 2021, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) entered into force, having been provisionally applied since 1 January 2021. One of the areas covered by the TCA, in its Part Three, is security cooperation between EU and UK law enforcement and judicial authorities in criminal matters. The 13 titles under Part Three contain extensive provisions aimed at enabling the continuation of information exchange, including personal data, between ...
Mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders
In order to respond more effectively to the challenge of criminals and terrorists hiding assets in other Member States, in 2016 the European Commission proposed a regulation on the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders in criminal matters. The directly applicable instrument removes the need for national transposition, broadens the scope of the current rules to cover new types of confiscation and includes provisions on victims' rights to restitution and compensation. In June 2018, ...
Sicherstellungs- und Einziehungsentscheidungen
Die Europäische Kommission hat 2016 eine neue Verordnung zur Verbesserung des EU-Rechtsrahmens für die Sicherstellung und Einziehung von Erträgen aus Straftaten in grenzübergreifenden Fällen vorgeschlagen. Mit ihr werden neue Arten von Einziehungsentscheidungen abgedeckt, Verfahren beschleunigt und das Recht der geschädigten Personen auf Entschädigung und Rückgabe gewährleistet. Das Europäische Parlament wird in der Oktober-I-Plenartagung über den in Trilogverhandlungen ausgehandelten Text abstimmen ...
Mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders
The IA for the proposed regulation has a number of weaknesses that could be attributed to political urgency and the need for EU action in the area of freezing and confiscation of criminal assets, notably since the recent terrorist attacks in France, Belgium and Germany. Overall, the IA lacks sound data and this is openly recognised throughout the document. In the context of the IA, no public consultation took place and no ex-post evaluation of existing mutual recognition instruments was carried out ...
The Cost of Non-Europe in the area of Organised Crime and Corruption: Annex I - Organised Crime
This Research Paper examines the costs of non-Europe in the field of organised crime. It provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the main legal/ethical, socio-political and economic costs and benefits of the EU in policies on organised crime. It offers an in-depth examination of the transformative contribution that the EU has made, in terms of investigation, prosecution and efficiency, to trans-border operational activities and the protection of its citizens’ rights. Finally, it seeks to answer ...
Asset recovery for Arab countries in transition
Since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the EU has frozen assets of 67 people suspected of concealing abroad state funds misappropriated in Egypt and Tunisia. But despite high-level political declarations sup¬porting the recovery of these assets, there seems to be little prospect of their swift return to the countries of origin.
In diesem Themenpapier wird die aktuelle Gesetzgebung zur Vermögensabschöpfung in der EU und den Mitgliedstaaten evaluiert; dabei wird die Frage erörtert, inwieweit die Schaffung von EU-Rechtsvorschriften über die Verwendung eingezogener Vermögenswerte zugunsten der Zivilgesellschaft und insbesondere zu sozialen Zwecken notwendig und realisierbar ist. Hervorgehoben wird die Tatsache, dass der Verwendung von eingezogenen Vermögensgegenständen auf EU-Ebene nur wenig Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wird und ...