Directive (EU) 2024/1260 on asset recovery and confiscation

What it is

to establish minimum rules on tracing and identification, freezing, confiscation and management of property in criminal proceedings. PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: Europol’s 2021 Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) highlighted the rising threat from organised crime and criminal infiltration. The revenues generated by organised crime are considerable. They are estimated at EUR 139 billion every year and are increasingly laundered through a parallel underground financial system. The availability of such proceeds from criminal activities poses a significant threat to the integrity of the economy and society, eroding the rule of law and fundamental rights. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Loránt VINCZE (EPP, RO) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 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. The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows: Members proposed expanding the scope of the directive to include the following criminal offences: - crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court; - illicit trafficking in hormonal substances and other growth promoters; Member States should ensure that asset recovery offices have appropriate access to any information to the extent that information is necessary for the tracing and identification of proceeds, instrumentalities, proceeds and property. That access should be expanded to include access to inter alia : - national beneficial ownership registers including registers of beneficial owners of trusts and similar legal arrangements; - bank account registers, including information on wire-transfers and accounts balances; - customs data, including cross-border physical transfers of cash ; - information on relevant high value goods or assets registers. The report proposed that Member States should take the necessary measures to enable the freezing of property necessary to ensure a possible confiscation of that property and to ensure the right to restitution and compensation to victims . Freezing measures should consist of freezing orders and immediate action in the form of temporary urgent freezing measures . Immediate action in the form of temporary urgent freezing measures should be taken when necessary, in order to preserve the property concerned. Where a freezing order under this Directive has been issued by a competent authority other than a judicial authority, Member States should ensure that such an order is validated or…

Frequently asked