At the Justice Council on Tuesday 9 December, the Belgian delegation presented a non-paper supporting the strengthening of cross-border investigation measures in the context of the enforcement of criminal confiscation orders.
According to the text, despite the scale of the profits generated by organised crime, less than 2% of the estimated criminal assets are recovered each year.
This is due to the fact that current cooperation instruments, such as the European Investigation Order (EIO) and the network of Asset Recovery Offices (AROs), are primarily designed for the investigation and prosecution phases, and not for the execution of final decisions.
However, it is at this stage that assets are often moved, concealed or converted, requiring additional investigative steps to trace the value to be confiscated.
The document also notes the diversity of national systems, with some States entrusting enforcement to the judiciary, with genuine powers of investigation, while others delegate it to administrative departments.
Belgium, which refers to its own “criminal execution investigation” model introduced in 2014, is calling for the development of a new European instrument devoted exclusively to this phase, allowing for the authorisation of measures such as bank searches, searches, intercepting communications of third parties or the seizure of valuables.
In addition, the Belgian delegation urges the European Commission to convene a group of experts to identify the current shortcomings, propose improvements to the tools already in place and simplify the documents that authorities have to complete.
Link to the document: https://aeur.eu/f/jwq (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry with Solenn Paulic)