The Council of Europe through its joint European Union and Council of Europe Project against Economic Crime in Kosovo* (PECK III) is supporting the authorities of Kosovo in strengthening the asset recovery and management system. 

In this respect, PECK III supported the participation of a delegation of competent institutions of Kosovo to an exchange visit on asset recovery and asset management in the Netherlands and Belgium from 27 to 30 March 2023.
 
Representatives of the Special Prosecution Office, State Prosecution, the Directorate for Investigation of Economic and Financial Crimes at the Kosovo Police, Basic Court of Pristina, Ministry of Justice, and Agency for the Administration of Seized and Confiscated Assets were hosted by Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rotterdam and Movable Goods Agency (DRZ) in Bleiswijk,  Belgian Central Office for Seizure and Confiscation (COSC), Ministry of Finance /Finshop in Brussels and First Instance Court of Mechelen.

During the visit the participants were introduced and exchanged on legal and operational challenges and practices on asset recovery, confiscation including mutual legal cooperation channels as well as challenges to effectively manage assets and make use of interim measures to sell or preserve them. Participants received first-hand information on the modalities of asset management and different tools for disposal of assets through a visit to the venue of deposited assets in the Netherlands. The visit concluded at the Court of Mechelen in Belgium with focussed discussions on the relevant European Court of Human Rights case-law including the Zschüschen v. Belgium and the Skynet cases.

These presentations and exchanges also contributed to get an overview of asset recovery administrative practice, including aspects related to online auction. 

The conducted visit provided a significant contribution to the ongoing process aiming at strengthening the legal framework on asset management and establishing the Asset Recovery Office in Kosovo.
The Project will continue to support the authorities on strengthening the legal framework and institutional capacities in this field.

The activity was organised within the framework of the “Project against Economic Crime in Kosovo” (PECK III), jointly funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the latter.