The EU will make it easier to confiscate property obtained by criminal means

A draft law to be proposed by the European Commission will make it possible to seize criminally acquired assets without a court conviction. The new measures would also apply to Russian and Belarusian businessmen.

In order to fight against organized crime, the European Commission (EC) plans to offer amendments to the legislation, which will facilitate the confiscation of property acquired by criminal means.

The new measures are also planned to apply to Russian and Belarusian oligarchs and politicians linked to Russia's war in Ukraine, European Commission Deputy Chairman Margaritis Schinas told Welt am Sonntag weekly in an interview published Saturday, May 14.

"The European Commission will soon put forward a proposal to improve the current EU legal framework on asset forfeiture to strengthen the powers of national law enforcement agencies to identify, freeze, confiscate and manage criminal assets," Schinas said, noting that current laws are not enough to deprive organized crime of high profits.

Measures against Russian oligarchs and politicians

According to Margaritis Schinas, the amount of criminal incomes in the EU is at least 139 billion euros, but only one percent of this amount can be confiscated.

The amendments, developed by the EC, will allow the confiscation and management of criminal funds without a court conviction, said the deputy chairman of the EC. He also said that the new rules will help the European Commission more effectively enforce sanctions against oligarchs and politicians close to Putin.

"We see a very concrete example of how important freezing and confiscation of property is in connection with the EU sanctions against the Russians and Belarusians who contributed to the war in Ukraine," Schinas said.

Source: DW