Towards more responsible international asset recovery
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2032284418802096 |
| Author | George Pavlidis |
| Published date | 01 September 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Analysis/Opinion |
Analysis/Opinion
Towards more responsible
international asset recovery:
The European Union should
lead the way
George Pavlidis
Neapolis University, Cyprus
Abstract
In order to enhance the existing legal framework on asset recovery, the European Union (EU)
will have to apply a ‘no safe haven’ policy to the proceeds of corruption and use all appro-
priate legal tools. We argue that a new EU instrument on asset recovery, modelled after the
Swiss Law on Asset Recovery, would be a valuable addition to the EU’s legal arsenal against
corruption, in compliance with its commitments under the United Nations Convention against
Corruption. Such an EU instrument will deal specifically with the EU’s power to block the
assets of foreign politically exposed persons (PEPs) and eventually facilitate restitution of
these assets. Following the model of the Swiss law, a reversal of the burden of proof as to the
origin of PEPs’ assets could be introduced in the new EU instrument. Judicial review should be
wide enough to ensure fairness to the affected PEPs, balancing the new powers of the Council
of the EU.
Keywords
Asset recovery, asset freeze, corruption, European Union, politically exposed persons
Introduction
In this article, we argue that the European Union (EU) should lead the way in enhancing asset
recovery, which is defined as the process of identifying, freezing, confiscating and repatriating to
their country of origin assets that constitute the proceeds of corruption and related crimes. The
EU’s role in responsible asset recovery is associated with its more general role in the fight against
corruption in third countries. In this context, EU action should be designed with careful consid-
eration of the legal, political and economic contexts in both the EU and the third countries
Corresponding author:
George Pavlidis, School of Law, Neapolis University, Danaes 2, Paphos 8042, Cyprus.
E-mail: g.pavlidis@nup.ac.cy
New Journal of European Criminal Law
2018, Vol. 9(3) 300–307
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/2032284418802096
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