Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. For the purpose of paragraph 1, Member States shall ensure that competent authorities may use the same investigative powers as those available for the tracing and freezing of assets pursuant to Chapter II of this Directive.

RemovedArticle 17 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. Member States may conclude cost-sharing agreements with each-other on the execution of freezing and confiscation orders.

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 1: 1. Where, as a result of a criminal offence, victims have claims against the person who is subject to a confiscation measure provided for under this Directive, Member States shall, as a matter of priority, take the necessary measures to ensure that victims’ claims for compensation are taken into account prior to the final confiscation measure. Member States shall pay particular attention to the victims’ claims in cross-border cases;

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. Where, as a result of a criminal offence, a victim is entitled to the restitution of property subject to confiscation, Member States shall, where possible and as a matter of priority, take the necessary measures to restitute the property concerned to the victim. for their claims in cross-border cases.

RemovedArticle 18 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. Where it is not possible to restitute the property to the victim in accordance with the second and financial assets have been obtained as a result of the execution of the confiscation or interlocutory sale in relation to that property, such assets shall be transferred to the victim for the purposes of restitution;

RemovedArticle 18 a – paragraph 1 (new): Article 18a / Further use of the confiscated property / 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to allow confiscated property to be used for public interest or social purposes. Such property may be kept as public property for justice, law enforcement, public service or economic purposes or be transferred to the local or regional authorities responsible for the area in which the property is located, for institutional, social or economic purposes, including for assignment to organisations carrying out work of social interest.

RemovedArticle 18 a – paragraph 2 (new): 2. Where the confiscated assets originated in a third country, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 3, Member States shall take all appropriate measures to return them to the third country. That obligation is without prejudice to the possibility to retain a portion of the assets to cover the costs associated with tracing and identification or management directly related to such assets.

RemovedArticle 18 a – paragraph 3 (new): 3. In cases where instrumentalities, proceeds and property have been confiscated in connection to the violation of Union restrictive measures and in order to facilitate the compensation, restitution and reparations towards States affected by international crimes related to such restrictive measures, the Commission and the Member States shall facilitate coordination between competent authorities and with third countries< / The Commission shall issue guidelines on the use of the confiscated instrumentalities, proceeds and property for compensation, restitution and reparations towards States, especially in the circumstances of war of aggression insofar as the interests at stake are directly or indirectly affected by the criminal activities covered by this Directive,

RemovedArticle 18 b (new): Article 18b / Rights for the public concerned to participate in proceedings / Member States shall ensure that, in accordance with their national legal system, members of the public concerned have appropriate rights to participate in the proceedings covered by this Directive;

RemovedArticle 19 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall ensure that, before issuing a freezing order within the meaning of Article 11 paragraph 1, competent authorities responsible for the management of frozen and confiscated property carry out an assessment of the costs which may be incurred in the management of the property which may be frozen, for the purposes of preserving and optimizing the value of such property until its disposal, unless specific circumstances of a case would require such an assessment to be postponed. Any decision by the competent authorities to forego such an assessment shall be duly justified.

RemovedArticle 19 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Member States may require the costs for the management of frozen property to be charged, at least partially, to the beneficial owner

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) the property subject to freezing is perishable or depreciating;

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) the storage or maintenance costs of the property are disproportionate to its market value;

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) the management of the property requires special conditions and expertise which is non-readily available.

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the interests of the owner of the property are taken into account when issuing an interlocutory sale order, including whether the property to be sold is easily replaceable. With the exception of cases of absconding and in duly justified circumstances, Member States shall ensure that the owner of the property that may be subject to an interlocutory sale is notified and is given the opportunity to be heard before the sale. The owner shall be given the possibility to request the sale of the property.

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 3: 3. Earnings from interlocutory sales shall be secured until a judicial decision on confiscation is reached. Member States shall take appropriate measures to protect third party buyers of property sold from retaliatory measures, to ensure that the property sold is not returned to persons convicted of the criminal offences referred to in Article 2.

RemovedArticle 20 – paragraph 4: deleted

RemovedArticle 21 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) to cooperate with other competent authorities responsible for the tracing and identification, freezing and confiscation of property, pursuant to this Directive, including Union agencies and bodies referred to in Article 28, in accordance with their areas of competence

RemovedArticle 22 – paragraph 1: Member States shall ensure that the freezing orders pursuant to Article 11, confiscation orders pursuant to Articles 12 to 16, and orders to sell the property pursuant to Article 20 are communicated to the affected person setting out the reasons for the measure as well as the rights and legal remedies available to that affected person pursuant to Article 23. Member States may put in place rules allowing for the temporary postponement of the obligation to inform the affected persons where necessary and proportionate for the protection of ongoing criminal investigations.

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall provide for the effective possibility for the person whose property is affected to challenge the freezing order pursuant to article 11 before a court, in accordance with procedures provided for in national law. Where the freezing order has been taken by a competent authority other than a judicial authority, national law shall provide that such an order is first to be submitted for validation or review, within a reasonable delay, to a judicial authority before it can be challenged before a court.

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2: In the case of confiscation orders pursuant to Article 13, such circumstance shall include facts and circumstances on which the finding was based that the third party knew or could be expected to have known that the purpose of the transfer or acquisition was to avoid confiscation or that the transferred property was directly or indirectly linked to criminal conduct on the basis of concrete facts and circumstances, such as the fact that the transfer or acquisition was carried out free of charge or in exchange for an amount disproportionate to the market value.

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 3: In the case of confiscation orders pursuant to Articles 14 and 16, such circumstances shall include specific facts and available evidence on the basis of which the property concerned is considered to be property that is derived directly or indirectly from criminal conduct.

RemovedArticle 23 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 4: In the case of confiscation orders pursuant to Article 15, such circumstances shall include facts and evidence on the basis of which the national court concluded that all the elements of the offence are present and that the property concerned is directly or indirectly derived from criminal conduct.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall adopt by [one year after the entry into force of this Directive] a national strategy on asset recovery and update it at regular intervals of no longer than four years.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) strategic objectives, priorities and measures for the purposes of enhancing efforts by all competent national authorities involved in the recovery and management of property as set out in this Directive;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) a governance framework to achieve the strategic objectives and priorities, including an effective cooperation framework between asset recovery offices and asset management offices and a further description of the roles and responsibilities of all the competent authorities and the cooperation between asset recovery offices and financial intelligence units;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) appropriate mechanisms for coordination and cooperation at strategic and operational levels among all competent authorities including the relevant Union agencies and bodies;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2 – point d: (d) appropriate financial resources appropriate training and appropriate legal capabilities made available to competent authorities;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new): (ea) recourse to the possibility to use frozen and confiscated assets for public interest or social purposes and for compensation, restitution and reparations towards States in accordance with Article 18a;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 2 – point e b (new): (eb) measures to be taken to ensure that the confiscated property is used to compensate the victims;

RemovedArticle 25 – paragraph 1: Member States shall ensure that asset recovery offices and asset management offices performing tasks pursuant to this Directive, have appropriately qualified and appropriate financial, technical and technological resources necessary for the effective performance of their functions related to the implementation of this Directive. Member States shall ensure that specialised training and exchanges of best practices is provided to the staff involved in asset identification, tracing and recovery and confiscation at regular intervals. In addition to their obligations under Article 24(2), point (c), Member States shall update the Commission annually on the resources allocated to asset recovery offices and asset management offices.

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 1: 1. For the purpose of managing frozen and confiscated property, Member States shall put in place centralised registries containing information related to the freezing, confiscation and management of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property which may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order. Member State shall ensure that the information entered into the registry is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) the estimated or actual value of the property at the moment of the freezing;

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Member States shall ensure that any personal data stored in the registry can only be accessed and used for the purposes of freezing, confiscation and management of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property which may become or is the object of a confiscation order.

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. Member States shall designate the competent authority or authorities responsible for the management of the centralised registries. Those authorities shall be considered to be the controller within the meaning of Article 3, point (8), of Directive (EU) 2016/680.

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 5 b (new): 5b. Member States shall ensure that the centralised registries referred to in paragraph 1 are compatible with the tools used for the digital communication in judicial cooperation procedures in civil, commercial and criminal matters, such as the decentralised IT system and European electronic access point regulated under Regulation XX/XXX and Directive XX/XXX on the digitalisation of judicial cooperation and access to justice in cross-border civil, commercial and criminal matters, and amending certain acts in the field of judicial cooperation.

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall regularly collect from the relevant authorities and maintain at central level comprehensive statistics on the measures taken under this Directive in order to review the effectiveness of their confiscation systems and in line with the methodology developed by the Commission pursuant to paragraph 3.

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall ensure that the statistics referred to in paragraph 1 are collected on a calendar basis and transmitted to the Commission on an annual basis, by [1 September] of the following year. The statistics collected shall include at least the following:

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point a (new): (a) the number of asset tracing investigations launched, and the number of asset traced;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point b (new): (b) the number of freezing orders initiated and number of freezing orders executed;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point c (new): (c) the number of confiscation orders executed broken down by type of confiscation referred to in Articles 12 to 16;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point d (new): (d) the value of property frozen;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point e (new): (e) for the confiscation orders included in a respective annual report, the value of confiscated property compared to the value of that property at the time of freezing;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point f (new): (f) the number of requests for freezing orders to be executed in another Member State;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point g (new): (g) the number of requests for confiscation orders to be executed in another Member State;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point h (new): (h) the value of the property recovered following execution of a confiscation order in another Member State;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point i (new): (i) the value of the property destined to be reused for law enforcement, prevention or social purposes as referred to in Article 18a;

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point j (new): (j) the manner in which the confiscated property has been used ; and

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2 – point k (new): (k) for the confiscation orders included in a respective annual report, the length of the procedure from freezing to final disposal.

RemovedArticle 27 a (new): Article 27a / Cooperation network on asset recovery and confiscation / 1. A cooperation network on asset recovery and confiscation (the ‘network’) shall be established to support the Commission and to facilitate the exchange of best practices, and operational cooperation in relation to the implementation of this Directive. The network shall be composed of representatives from asset recovery offices and asset management offices and shall be co-chaired by the Commission and, where appropriate, by Europol. The network shall be convened at regular intervals. / The network shall: / (a) advise the Commission in relation to the implementation of the measures provided for in this Directive; / (b) analyse the national strategies on asset recovery adopted by Member States pursuant to Article 24 in order to identify best practices; / (c) share best practices to improve cooperation with third countries; / (d) facilitate operational cooperation among relevant national authories and Europol. / 2. Representatives from Europol, Eurojust, from the European Public Prosecutors Office and, where appropriate, from the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) may be invited to participate in the meetings of the network.

RemovedArticle 28 – title: Cooperation with Union bodies and agencies

RemovedArticle 28 – paragraph 1: 1. Asset recovery offices of Member States shall, within their respective competences and in accordance with the applicable legal framework, closely cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the purposes of facilitating the identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property that may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order in proceedings in criminal matters concerning criminal offences falling within the competence of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office exercises its competence. For the purposes of this Directive, when the notion of competent authorities refers to investigating and prosecuting authorities, it shall be interpreted as including the central and decentralised levels of the EPPO with regard to the Member States that participate in the enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO. Asset recovery offices shall fulfil the obligations under Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, including the obligation to report to the EPPO under Article 24 of that Regulation, the undertaking of measures if instructed as a competent authority under Article 28(1) of that Regulation, and access to information under Article 43(1) of that Regulation.

RemovedArticle 28 – paragraph 2: 2. Asset recovery offices shall cooperate with Europol for the purposes of facilitating the identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property that may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order made by a competent authority in the course of proceedings in criminal matters, and where necessary to prevent, detect or investigate criminal offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures.

RemovedArticle 28 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Asset recovery offices and asset management offices shall closely cooperate with Eurojust for the purpose of facilitating the asset recovery process in accordance with Eurojust’s mandate, including, but not limited to the tracing and identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property that may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order made by a competent authority in the course of proceedings in criminal matters and subsequent disposal, including in the course of the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures.

RemovedArticle 33 – paragraph 1: 1. The Commission shall, by [date of entry into force + three years], submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council, assessing the implementation of this Directive. That report shall include a detailed assessment of the possibility and benefits of interconnecting the centralised registries referred to in Article 26 through a single access point in order to allow asset recovery offices to directly and immediately search the data contained therein, subject to relevant safeguards.

RemovedArticle 33 – paragraph 2: 2. The Commission shall, by [date of entry into force + four years], submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council evaluating this Directive. The Commission shall take into account the information provided by Member States and any other relevant information related to the transposition and implementation of this Directive. On the basis of this evaluation, the Commission shall decide on appropriate follow-up actions, including, if necessary, a legislative proposal.

Removed24.3.2023