Europe wants to do much more in its pursuit of criminal assets. This is desperately needed, because of the 139 billion that crime gangs collect every year – an amount that comes close to the total EU budget – only 2 percent are now frozen and 1 percent taken away.
Brussels believes it can significantly improve investigation and prosecution by harmonizing the approach and punishment and by a much faster freezing of criminal assets. “If it takes too much time, there is not much left to freeze,” said European Commissioner of the Interior Ylva Johansson.
Crime groups are now so powerful that they pose a serious threat to internal European security, according to the Commission. Many gangs operate in three or more countries, work professionally and take full advantage of open borders with their arms, drug and human trafficking activities. Whoever stands in their way is bribed or killed.
They also increasingly take over bona fide companies that they then use as a cover for their illegal activities. The coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have further increased the risk of them infiltrating the official economy, as many more companies than usual are extremely vulnerable to takeovers.
All hands on deck
Despite the fact that it is all hands on deck, the Commission proposals lack the mandatory asset register, for which there has recently been a majority in the European Parliament. Possibly later, according to European Commissioner of Justice Didier Reynders. The Commission now wants to make the circumvention of sanctions a crime, so that it can be taken more vigorously, but the problem that the Netherlands also faces – that assets cannot be frozen because it is often not clear who owns them – is not addressed in this way. So are the wealthy Russian oligarchs in Europe.
Brussels today had to give up considerably on previously raised expectations in order to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine with this capital. That will require hundreds of billions, but so far less than 10 billion in assets have been frozen across Europe (and that can only be taken away if there is a crime link). A much higher figure from April – 35 billion – included frozen assets of the Russian central bank.
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