Directive 2024/1260 - Asset recovery and confiscation - Main contents
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Directive (EU) 2024/1260 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on asset recovery and confiscation| Legal instrument | Directive |
|---|---|
| Number legal act | Directive 2024/1260 |
| Original proposal | COM(2022)245  |
| CELEX number i | 32024L1260 |
| Document | 24-04-2024; Date of signature |
|---|---|
| Signature | 24-04-2024 |
| Effect | 22-05-2024; Entry into force Date pub. +20 See Art 37 |
| Deadline | 24-05-2027; See Art 25 And 32.3 And 32.4 24-11-2028; See Art 34.1 24-11-2031; See Art 34.2 |
| End of validity | 31-12-9999 |
| Transposition | 23-11-2026; See Art 33.1 |
Official Journal of the European Union |
EN L series |
2024/1260 |
2.5.2024 |
DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/1260 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 24 April 2024
on asset recovery and confiscation
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 82(2), Article 83(1) and (2) and Article 87(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),
Whereas:
(1) |
Europol’s 2021 Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) highlighted the rising threat from organised crime and criminal infiltration. Driven by the large revenue generated by organised crime, which amounts to at least EUR 139 billion every year and which is increasingly laundered through a parallel underground financial system, the availability of proceeds from criminal activities poses a significant threat to the integrity of the economy and society, eroding the rule of law and fundamental rights. According to the Communication from the Commission of 14 April 2021 on the EU Strategy to tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025, that strategy aims to address challenges posed by organised crime by promoting cross-border cooperation and information exchange, supporting effective investigations of criminal networks, eliminating proceeds from criminal activities, and making law enforcement and judiciary fit for the digital age. |
(2) |
The main motive for criminal organisations that operate across borders, including high-risk criminal networks, is financial gain. In order to tackle the serious threat posed by organised crime, it is important that competent authorities are, therefore, given more operational capacity and the necessary means to effectively trace and identify, freeze, confiscate and manage the instrumentalities and proceeds of crime or property that stem from criminal activities. |
(3) |
Criminal organisations usually reinvest part of their profits from criminal activities to create a financial base enabling them to continue such activities. In addition, criminal organisations often resort to violence, threats, intimidation or corruption in order to acquire control of companies, obtain concessions, authorisations, tenders or grants, achieve illicit profits or advantages, or infiltrate key infrastructures such as logistic hubs. Such organisations therefore adversely affect the freedom of competition, or influence decisions of public authorities, threatening the rule of law and democracy. Criminal organisations have become worldwide economic operators with entrepreneurial objectives. Depriving criminals of illicit profits is essential in order to disrupt their activities and to prevent them from infiltrating legitimate economies. |
(4) |
Economic and financial crime, in particular organised crime, is often committed through legal persons, and the criminal offences included in the scope of this Directive can be committed in the interest or for the benefit of such legal persons. Therefore, freezing and confiscation orders can be issued also against legal persons in accordance with national law. |
(5) |
An effective asset recovery system requires the swift tracing and identification of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime, and property suspected to be of criminal origin. Such instrumentalities, proceeds or property should be frozen in order to prevent their disappearance, following which they should be confiscated upon the issuing of a confiscation order within the framework of proceedings in criminal matters. An effective asset recovery system further... |
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