The absence of an agency that manages temporarily and permanently confiscated property at the state level leads to the fact that this property is falling apart, and there are resistances to its formation, it was said at the conference “Effective Confiscation of illegally acquired property in the Western Balkans”.
Nevena Kostic, project manager of the AIRE Center, said that more than a hundred judges, prosecutors, professors and other experts from the Western Balkan countries are attending this conference, whose work contributes to confiscation of illegally acquired property.
“Corruption and organized crime continue to represent one of the most widespread and persistent challenges to the rule of law in the Western Balkans. Confiscating illegally acquired property is one of the most effective means of fighting crime, which sends a clear message to perpetrators that crime does not payoff,” told Kostic.
According to her, the Western Balkans has made enormous progress in recent years in the adoption of legislation on confiscation of property benefits, but we still see significant obstacles in their implementation.
The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Julian Reilly, said that organized crime and corruption are key obstacles to prosperity and the rule of law. As he stated, seizing property from criminals is an unavoidable way of undermining the business model of criminals and corrupt politicians.
“We must share knowledge, skills and expertise to bring criminals to justice and hit them where it hurts the most – their wealth.” Many areas have updated their criminal laws and procedures. Others are in the process of those changes. Most have also established specific laws related to confiscation of property based on international standards,” said Ambassador Reilly.
The head of the Secretariat of the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI), Desislava Gotskova, said that the annual conference on the effective confiscation of illegally acquired property brought together professionals engaged in the project to share their expertise and knowledge.
The latest research on good practices in confiscation and use of illegally acquired property was also presented at this event, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
