Committee of Experts on Criminal Asset Recovery (PC-RAC)

The Council of Europe has historically been at the forefront of international action against organised crime by developing a range of conventions and other soft law standards aimed at facilitating international co-operation as regards investigative assistance, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from all types of criminality. Work in this area has led to the adoption of the 1990 Council of Europe Convention on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime (“the Strasbourg Convention”), as the first internationally binding treaty that focuses exclusively on money laundering.

In May 2005, the Council of Europe opened for signature the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (CETS No. 198), which is the first international treaty covering both the prevention and the control of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

On 23 November 2023, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted the Terms of Reference establishing the Committee of Experts on Criminal Asset Recovery (PC-RAC).

The PC-RAC is entrusted, under the authority of the Committee of Ministers and the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), to elaborate an additional protocol supplementing the Council of Europe Convention on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime and on the financing of terrorism (CETS no. 198), as well as a draft explanatory report.

The PC-RAC will meet 3 times a year, in closed session. Access to information about specific meetings and documents of the PC-RAC is available below, or depending on their classification, can be consulted in line with Resolution Res(2001)6 on access to Council of Europe documents.

Reference documents

Terms of Reference 2024-2025

Members

Resolution CM/Res(2021)3 on intergovernmental committees and subordinate bodies, their terms of reference and working methods

Key and other background documents

Convention on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime and on the financing of terrorism (CETS no. 198) and Explanatory Report to CETS no 198

Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty CETS no. 198

Interpretative Notes adopted by the Conference of the Parties to CETS no. 198

Conference of the Parties Thematic Monitoring Reviews

European Court of Human Rights - New Key Theme: Confiscation / Seizure of assets

Study on the possible added value and feasibility of preparing a new binding instrument in the Council of Europe on international co-operation as regards the management, recovery and sharing of assets proceeding from crime

The Use of Non-Conviction Based Seizure and Confiscation

Meetings

7th meeting (8-10 December 2025)

Strasbourg, France

Agenda

Abridged meeting report

List of participants

6th meeting (6-10 October 2025)

Strasbourg, France

Agenda

Agenda

Abridged meeting report

Meeting report

List of participants

News

Back Council of Europe conference explores synergies for enhanced asset recovery under new Protocol

Cristina MATEI

Modified 1 Year ago.

Council of Europe conference explores synergies for enhanced asset recovery under new Protocol

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on Criminal Asset Recovery (PC-RAC) held a conference on “Enhancing Asset Recovery: Synergies under the Additional Protocol to CETS No. 198” on 20 May 2025 at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg.

The meeting was opened by Mr Cornel Virgiliu Călinescu (Romania), Chair of the PC-RAC, and Ms Livia Stoica-Becht, Head of the Economic Crime and Cooperation Division of the Council of Europe. Both speakers underlined the importance of modernising and strengthening the legal framework for asset recovery through the future Protocol.

The event featured national experts and representatives from various Council of Europe bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), alongside key international organisations such as the Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network (CARIN), the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Through lively panel discussions, participants explored how the future Protocol to the Warsaw Convention (CETS No. 198) can boost cooperation, protect rights, and help tracking and confiscation of illicit assets. From human rights safeguards to victim compensation and asset-sharing, the exchange of ideas and experiences offered valuable input for shaping this important legal tool.

Key takeaways from the event will inform the finalisation of the draft Protocol, which aims to reinforce standards for more effective asset recovery in Europe and beyond.

For more information, please see the Agenda of the Conference.