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Asset Recovery - the Role of Europol & the Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network
“Trans-Atlantic Symposium on dismantling transnational illicit networks”Lisbon, 17-19 May 2011
Burkhard Mühl, Senior SpecialistEuropol Criminal Assets Bureau
Europol Unclassified – Basic Protection Level
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Asset seizure and confiscation
• 70 % of all crimes are committed for financial gain - Confiscation attacks this core motive and prevents that criminal wealth be used for other crimes
• It allows to target the decision-makers within criminal organisations
• It may have a deterrent effect (“crime does not pay”) and help removing negative role models
• Criminals and their illegal profits move almost effortlessly acrossthe borders
• Relatively limited number of confiscation cases in the EU and modest amounts recovered if compared to estimated revenues of organised crime groups
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Europol Criminal Assets Bureau
Responsibilities of ECAB
Operational• To provide support to all mandates crime areas in order to
identify and seize/freeze criminal assets • To directly support Member States in tracing criminal assets
located outside their jurisdictions
Strategic• To support Member States in the establishment of Asset
Recovery Offices in line with European Law (Council Decision 2007/845/JHA) and to facilitate the information exchange between them via the Europol SIENA System
• To hold the permanent Secretariat of the ‘The Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network – CARIN ‘
• To manage The Europol Financial Crime Information Centre Web Site – FCIC
EU Council Decision on Asset Recovery Office(s)2007/845/JHA
ARO = Office charged with
• the facilitation of the tracing and identification of proceeds of crime and other crime related property
(!) which may become the object of an order made by a competent judicial authority for freezing or seizure or for confiscation in the course of criminal or, as far as possible under the national law of the Member State concerned, civil proceedings.
• Currently 23 EU Member States have established AROs
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Europol SIENA System – a secure channel for direct co-operation between AROs
• AROs have an obligation to co-operate and therefore need a secure channel to exchange sensitive information
• SIENA is already operational and offers this secure channel
• 12 AROs are already connected to SIENA (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovak Republic, Spain,)
Conclusion FD AROs
EU Council Decision on Asset Recovery Office(s) =
• important ‘instutional brick’ in the EU framework for confiscation of criminal proceeds
• Mutual recognition of freezing orders/confiscation orders is contingent upon the swift exchange of information between AROs
The Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network
(CARIN)
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57 MembersNovember 2010
Europol, Egmont Group, Eurojust, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Interpol, OLAF, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Bank
9 International Organisations:
48 Countries / Jurisdictions:
CARIN
Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America
CARIN
CARIN is an informal network of English speaking judicial andlaw enforcement practitioners, who are experts in the field of asset tracing, freezing, seizure and confiscation
The aim of CARIN is to increase the effectiveness of members’efforts on a multi-agency basis, in depriving criminals of theirillicit profits
• no legal basis - informal
• CARIN contacts are not linked electronically
• The CARIN contacts list forms the basis of the network
• Informal network – formal channels
• 2 contacts from each member jurisdiction or organisation
• Steering Group – 9 members, Presidency – Annual
• Europol - permanent Secretariat
Structure of CARIN
How does it work?
Operational Involvement
CARIN contacts provide general information on the possibilities intheir own jurisdictions
And facilitate the effective exchange of information andintelligence where necessary
New CARIN Style Networks
Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network (CARIN)
Secretariat located at Europol
Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network Southern Africa (ARINSA)
Secretariat located at the South African National Asset Forfeiture Unit
Red de Recuperacion de Activos de GAFISUD (RRAG)
Secretariat located at the GAFISUD Secretariat Office
WORLD
CARINARINSARRAG
EUROPE
CARIN
Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of Southern Africa
Botswana
Mauritius
Namibia
South Africa
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
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7 MembersNovember 2010
ARINSA
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12 MembersNovember 2010
Red de la Recuperación de Activos de GAFISUD
RRAG
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
México
Panamá
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
What benefits can CARIN bring?
• General advice and guidance on asset recovery in member jurisdictions
• Facilitate, where possible, training in all aspects of asset recovery
• Facilitate the exchange of operational requests between your investigators and prosecutors and other CARIN member jurisdictions
• Access to the FCIC website containing all general CARIN information
Burkhard Mühl, MASenior Specialist
Europol Criminal Assets BureauTel.: +31(0)703531623
Mobile: +31(0)[email protected]
Thank you for your attention!