On November 19-20 representatives of Directorate of Insolvency (DoI) under Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry in Cyprus and Financial Intelligence Unit MOKAS of Cyprus, have participated in a peer-to-peer visit to their counterparts in Belgium. Both MOKAS, as institution currently competent for management of assets and DoI, as future asset management office (AMO) of Cyprus, had the opportunity to observe how the entire cycle of management of seized and confiscated assets functions in practice, from the moment of identification of an asset for seizure to the final disposal.
On the first day, participants were acquainted with functioning of the Central Office for Seizure and Confiscation, with their powers and competencies, organizational structure, resources and asset management options on their disposal, as well as with their system of monitoring and recording of seized assets. The representatives of COSC shared case studies, challenges encountered through more than 20 years of functioning and lessons learned. In the same day, participants have also visited the Fin Shop – Belgian auction house for sale of seized and confiscated assets. During the visit the topics of interim-sale, preservation of assets from deterioration and expenses of asset management were discussed.
During the visit to the Financial Intelligence Unit of Belgium, on the second day, participants learned about the key trends and typologies of money laundering in Belgium, emerging threats, but also about the way the financial intelligence is used in asset recovery and asset management. Finally, during the visit to the police, the participants gained a clear understanding of how interagency cooperation operates through the liaison police officers assigned to COSC and how authorities deal with seizure and management of complex assets, such as cryptocurrencies.
The peer-to-peer mission was held within the framework of the 2024 Council of Europe/European Union Technical Support Instrument "Establishment of an asset management office in Cyprus".
