Asset recovery is one of the key elements of the fight against corruption, money laundering and even crime in general. Criminal activities will tend to remain attractive to their perpetrators if they are confident that they and their families will still be able to enjoy their illegally obtained wealth, even if they get caught and convicted for a period of time. Effectively recovering those assets is therefore a powerful way of deterrence. Besides, the major loss of wealth for the state and its citizens that results from economic crime has severe economic and social consequences. Asset recovery can also generate funds for development in relevant areas.
Georgian authorities have recognized the importance of the implementation of efficient asset recovery and confiscation measures as a crucial part for establishment of a solid anti-money laundering/anti-corruption regime of the country, and the EU/Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance is providing substantive support in this direction.
In this perspective, the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia organised an online training on “Seizure, confiscation and recovery of proceeds of corruption, money laundering and other economic crime” on 19-20 November 2020.
The activity, delivered by three international Council of Europe experts with a combination of academic and practitioners’ backgrounds, intended to familiarize Georgian law enforcement agencies and judges with international standards and best practices on tracing, seizure and confiscation mechanisms. Participants received detailed information on the asset recovery regime defined under the UNCAC (United Nations Convention Against Corruption) and analysed practical cases for its effective implementation. The Council of Europe experts also provided a comparative view of European asset management systems, emphasizing the importance of database for ensuring an efficient management and disposal of assets by the states.
The training involved 26 participants from the Prosecutor’s Office (including regions), Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance, State Security Service of Georgia and judges presented by the High School of Judges. Through breakout sessions in small groups, beneficiaries had the opportunity to discuss real cases and to exchange professional views on different possible solutions. Discussions between the representatives of a wide range of Georgian agencies and the Council of Europe experts helped identify the main barriers for creating an effective asset recovery system, and possible steps for its further improvement in Georgia.
This event thus contributed to advancing the technical knowledge and capacity of Georgian actors to deal efficiently, and in compliance with international standards, with tracing, freezing and confiscating proceeds from crime, and with the challenges related to effective asset disposal and management. This is one of the steps among a series of actions supporting the development of national capacities and more effective systems for asset recovery and against economic crime – also in line with MONEYVAL’s latest findings and recommendations in the Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation Report on Georgia published in September 2020.
The activity was organised within the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance Project “Enhancing the systems of prevention and combating corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing in Georgia” (PGG II-Georgia), launched in January 2019.