Book review: Chasing Criminal Money: Challenges and Perspectives on Asset Recovery in the EU
| Author | Foivi Mouzakiti |
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2032284417723417 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Book reviews
Chasing Criminal Money: Challenges and Perspectives on Asset Recovery in the EU, Katalin Ligeti and
Michele Simonato (eds.) (London: Hart Publishing, 2017), ISBN 9781509912070, 400 pp., £80
Reviewed by: Foivi Mouzakiti, Ph.D., Candidate at Queen Mary University of London, School of Law, UK
DOI: 10.1177/2032284417723417
During past decades, the practice of tracing and depriving offenders of their cri minal assets has
emerged as a key crime control mechanism worldwide, especially with regard to organized and
serious crime. Modern approaches to confiscation, however, extend beyond the classic model
whereby assets linked to a crime for which there has been a conviction are confiscated. New tools,
such as extended confiscation or non-conviction-based confiscation, reveal a trend of decoupling
the assets subject to confiscation from criminal conviction. The European Union (EU) is no
exception to this trend; the latest legislative instrument (Directive 2014/42/EU) introduced sev eral
of these tools, with the view to facilitating the freezing and confiscation of the proceeds and
instrumentalities of crime. This race for efficiency, however, which often involves the watering
down of criminal justice safeguards, raises significant huma n rights concerns. Considering that the
assets actually confiscated are a drop in the ocean compared to the vast amounts of crimina l
wealth, it is worth questioning whether this ever-expanding system of asset recovery is moving in
the right direction.
Chasing Criminal Money addresses all these issues and many more by bringing together a series
of contributions that offer theoretical and practical perspectives on asset recovery. The scope of the
collection warrants special reference; asset recovery is conceptualized as a multifaceted process,
while the book serves as a signpost, navigating readers through this process. For the selective
reader, the editors Katalin Ligeti and Michele Simonato have written an excellent introductory
chapter, which outlines the relevant EU legislative status quo and summarizes the book’s individ-
ual contributions. The collection is divided into two parts: part I focuses on the central aspects of
asset recovery, while part II moves to an in-depth analysis of asset recovery in all its complexity.
From the least explored aspects, such as the role of financial intelligence units in asset recovery
(Marc Penna), the challenges that arise in the course of financial investigations (Stefan Cassella)
and the social reuse of confiscated assets in various member states (Barbara Vettori and Andrea Di
Nicola) to the more fundamental – and may I say controversial – issues surrou nding modern
confiscation tools, this collection provides a comprehensive overview of asset recovery. To the
delight of the historically inclined reader, it even includes a historical reflection on confiscation
laws (Michae¨l Fernandez-Bertier).
The strong EU focus of the book is particularly welcome, not to mention timely; asset recovery
is currently a policy priority for the EU. Its renewed emphasis on combatting organized crime and
New Journal of European Criminal Law
2017, Vol. 8(3) 403–407
ªThe Author(s) 2017
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