Recent developments in EU anti-corruption strategy: the missing element of the return of corrupt assets to “victim countries”
| Date | 05 February 2024 |
| Pages | 1-12 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-11-2023-0176 |
| Published date | 05 February 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime |
| Author | Ariadna H. Ochnio |
Recent developments in EU
anti-corruption strategy: the
missing element of the return of
corrupt assets to “victim countries”
Ariadna H. Ochnio
Department of Criminal Law, Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
Warszawa, Poland
Abstract
Purpose –Recent developmentsin the EU’s anti-corruption strategy have brought the EU closer to meeting
the UNCAC’s objectives,i.e. the Proposal for a Directive on combating corruption(2023) and the Proposal for a
Directive on AssetRecovery and Confiscation (2022). This paper aims to discussthese developments from the
perspectiveof the UNCAC, to identify missing elements in the EU’s asset recovery mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach –Critical approach towards EU anti-corruption policy (discussing the
problemsand solutions). Review of EU developments in asset recovery law.
Findings –There is a political willon the part of the EU to fight corruption through the rules enshrinedin
the UNCAC. However, improving EU law by introducing a new type of confiscation of unexplainedwealth
and criminalising illicit enrichment, without establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets
from EU territory to the countries of origin, cannot be seen as sufficient action to achieve the UNCAC’s
objectives. In modelling mechanismsof the return of assets, the EU should search for solutions to overcome
the difficulties resultingfrom the ordre public clause remaining a significantfactor conditioning mutual legal
assistance.
Originality/value –This paper discussesthe possible input of the EU, as a non-State Party to the UNCAC,
to advance implementing the UNCAC solutions on asset recovery by establishing convergent rules for the
return of corruptassets from EU territory to countries of origin.
Keywords Asset recovery, Return of assets, Unexplained wealth, Illicit enrichment, Corruption,
UNCAC
Paper type General review
1. Introduction
The EU’s ambition is to develop a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy, one element of
which is an improvement of the mechanisms of recovery of corrupt assets stored by
Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) in EU territory. There is no questionthat to achieve this
Ariadna H. Ochnio Published in Journal of Money Laundering Control. Published by Emerald
Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0)
licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for
both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication
and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
legalcode
This research was funded in whole by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant no. 2022/45/B/HS5/
03080. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC-BY public copyright licence to any
Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version arising from this submission.
EU anti-
corruption
strategy
1
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.27 No. 7, 2024
pp. 1-12
EmeraldPublishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-11-2023-0176
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1368-5201.htm
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
