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)652560497burkhard.muhl@europol.europa.eu

Thank you for your attention!