The Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe’s Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (CETS 198) opened for signature on October 14, 2026. The Protocol gives countries stronger tools to trace, freeze and confiscate assets linked to crime, including crypto-assets.
The Additional Protocol supports faster cross-border cooperation through information-sharing and joint investigations and provides for dedicated offices to trace and manage criminal assets. It also covers the return of property to victims or its legitimate owners. Eight countries - Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and the United Kingdom - and the European Union were the first to sign the Protocol, at the 2026 Octopus conference on cybercrime in Strasbourg.
A new leaflet and Q&A section are now available to help answer questions about the Additional Protocol. Explore the materials to learn what the Protocol changes and how it aims to help countries recover criminal assets across borders:
