OSCE facilitates workshop on confiscated criminal assets management in Moldova

How do state agencies effectively manage businesses, real estate, securities, and financial instruments seized from organized crime groups? How do they ensure that their value does not depreciate by the end of lengthy court proceedings, and that they do not become a liability to the seizing authority? These are some of the questions tackled during an OSCE-facilitated workshop on the effective management of seized and confiscated criminal assets that took place in Moldova this week.

The three-day workshop aimed to equip participants with the necessary tools to strengthen their capabilities in asset recovery.

"This activity has contributed toward improving our practical skills in areas that are very important and relevant for us. I am confident that what we learned here will make our work more efficient,” said Alexandru Cernei, Prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in Moldova.

The workshop, held from 7 to 9 November 2023 in Chisinau, gathered representatives from the police, the prosecution service, the courts, the State Tax Service, the bailiff’s office and the Criminal Asset Recovery Agency. It was delivered through three sessions covering different phases in asset management: pre-seizure planning, post-seizure handling, and disposal of assets. Each session involved a group exercise. The sessions also highlighted best international practices and solutions to asset management applicable in the Moldovan context.

The workshop was organized within the framework of the extra-budgetary project “Strengthening Asset Recovery Efforts in the OSCE Region”, implemented jointly by the Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, with the financial support of Austria, Germany, Italy and the United States.