Legal provisions of COM(2022)245 - Asset recovery and confiscation

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dossier COM(2022)245 - Asset recovery and confiscation.
document COM(2022)245 EN
date April 24, 2024


Contents

CHAPTER - I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 - Subject matter 

1. This Directive establishes minimum rules on the tracing and identification, freezing, confiscation, and management of property within the framework of proceedings in criminal matters.

2. This Directive also establishes rules to facilitate the effective implementation of Union restrictive measures and the subsequent recovery of related property where necessary to prevent, detect or investigate criminal offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures.

Article 2 - Scope

1. This Directive shall apply to the following criminal offences:

(a) participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA 37 ;

(b) terrorism, as defined in Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council 38 ;

(c) trafficking in human beings, as defined in Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 39 ;

(d) sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, as defined in Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 40 ;

(e) illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as defined in Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA 41 ;

(f) corruption, as defined in the Convention drawn up on the basis of Article K.3(2)(c) of the Treaty on European Union on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of the Member States of the European Union 42  and in the Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA 43 ;

(g) money laundering, as defined in Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and of the Council 44 ;

(h) forgery of means of payment, as defined in Directive (EU) 2019/713 of the European Parliament and of the Council 45 ;

(i) counterfeiting currency, including the euro, as defined in Directive 2014/62/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 46 ;

(j) computer-related crime, as defined in Directive 2013/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 47 ;

(k) illicit trafficking in weapons, munitions and explosives, as defined in the Protocol against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against transnational organized crime 48 ;

(l) fraud, including fraud and other criminal offences affecting the Union's financial interests as defined in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council 49 ;

(m) environmental crime, including illicit trafficking in endangered animal species and in endangered plant species and varieties as defined in in Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 50 , as well as offences related to ship pollution as defined in Directive 2005/35/EC as amended by Directive 2009/123/EC 51 ;

(n) facilitation of unauthorised entry and residence, as defined in Council Framework Decision 2002/946/JHA 52 , and Council Directive 2002/90/EC 53 ;

2. This Directive shall apply to the following offences to the extent that the offence is committed within the framework of a criminal organisation:

(a) counterfeiting and piracy of products;

(b) illicit trafficking in cultural goods, including antiques and works of art;

(c) forgery of administrative documents and trafficking therein;

(d) murder or grievous bodily injury;

(e) illicit trade in human organs and tissue;

(f) kidnapping, illegal restraint or hostage-taking;

(g) organised or armed robbery;

(h) racketeering and extortion;

(i) trafficking in stolen vehicles;

(j) tax crimes relating to direct taxes and indirect taxes and as defined in the national law of the Member States, which are punishable by deprivation of liberty or a detention order of at least one year.

3. [This Directive shall apply to the violation of Union restrictive measures as defined in the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council].

4. This Directive shall apply to any other criminal offences set out in other Union legal acts if they provide specifically that this Directive applies to the criminal offences defined therein.

5. The provisions on tracing and identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property in Chapter II shall apply to all criminal offences as defined in national law which are punishable by deprivation of liberty or a detention order of at least one year.

Article 3 - Definitions

For the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘proceeds’ means any economic advantage derived directly or indirectly from a criminal offence consisting of any form of property, and including any subsequent reinvestment or transformation of direct proceeds and any valuable benefits;

(2) ‘property’ means property of any description, whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, and legal documents or instruments evidencing title or interest in such property;

(3) ‘instrumentalities’ means any property used or intended to be used, in any manner, wholly or partially, to commit a criminal offence;

(4) ‘tracing and identification’ means any investigation by competent authorities to determine instrumentalities, proceeds, or property that may be derived from criminal activities;

(5) ‘freezing’ means the temporary prohibition of the transfer, destruction, conversion, disposal or movement of property or temporarily assuming custody or control of property;

(6) ‘confiscation’ means a final deprivation of property ordered by a court in relation to a criminal offence;

(7) ‘SIENA’ means the secure information exchange network application, managed by Europol, aimed at facilitating the exchange of information between Member States and Europol;

(8) ‘criminal organisation’ means a criminal organisation as defined in Article 1 of the Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;

(9) ‘victim’ means a victim as defined in Article 2(1), point (a), of Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, 54 as well as a legal person, as defined in national law, that has suffered harm as a result of any of the offences within the scope of this Directive;

(10) ‘beneficial owner’ means a beneficial owner as defined in Article 3, point (6), of Directive 2015/849/EU 55 ;

(11) ‘Union restrictive measures’ means measures adopted on the basis of Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

(12) ‘targeted financial sanctions’ means specific Union restrictive measures directed against certain persons or entities adopted on the basis of Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

CHAPTER II - tracing and identification

Article 4 - Asset tracing investigations

1. To facilitate cross-border cooperation, Member States shall take measures to enable the swift tracing and identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property which may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order in the course of criminal proceedings.

2. Asset tracing investigations pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be carried out immediately by competent authorities whenever an investigation is initiated in relation to a criminal offence which is likely to give rise to substantial economic benefit, or where necessary to prevent, detect or investigate criminal offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures.

Article 5 - Asset recovery offices

1. Each Member State shall set up at least one asset recovery office to facilitate cross-border cooperation in relation to asset tracing investigations.

2. Asset recovery offices shall have the following tasks:

(a) trace and identify instrumentalities, proceeds, or property whenever necessary to support other competent national authorities responsible for asset tracing investigations pursuant to Article 4;

(b) trace and identify instrumentalities, proceeds, or property which may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order issued by another Member State;

(c) cooperate and exchange information with other Member States’ asset recovery offices in the tracing and identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property which may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order;

(d) exchange information with other asset recovery offices in the Member States related to the effective implementation of Union restrictive measures where necessary to prevent, detect or investigate criminal offences.

3. Asset recovery offices shall be empowered to trace and identify property of persons and entities subject to EU targeted financial sanctions where necessary to prevent, detect or investigate criminal offences. To that effect, they shall cooperate with asset recovery offices and other relevant competent authorities in other Member States and exchange relevant information.

4. Member States shall enable asset recovery offices to take immediate action pursuant to Article 11 paragraph 2 where necessary to prevent, detect or investigate criminal offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures. Article 11 paragraph 5 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Article 6 - Access to information

1. For the purposes of performing the tasks referred to in Article 5, Member States shall ensure that asset recovery offices have immediate and direct access to the following information to the extent that information is necessary for the tracing and identification of proceeds, instrumentalities, and property:

(a) fiscal data, including data held by tax and revenue authorities;

(b) national real estate registers or electronic data retrieval systems and land and cadastral registers;

(c) national citizenship and population registers of natural persons;

(d) national motor vehicles, aircraft and watercraft registers;

(e) commercial databases, including business and company registers;

(f) national social security registers;

(g) relevant information which is held by authorities competent for preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting criminal offences.

2. Where the information referred to in paragraph 1 is not stored in databases or registers, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that asset recovery offices can swiftly obtain that information by other means.

3. The direct and immediate access to the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the procedural safeguards established under national law.

Article 7 - Conditions for access to information by asset recovery offices

1. Access to information pursuant to Article 6 shall be performed only where necessary on a case-by-case basis by the staff specifically designated and authorised to access the information referred to in Article 6.

2. Member States shall ensure that staff of the asset recovery offices comply with the rules on confidentiality and professional secrecy as provided for under applicable national law. Member States shall also ensure that staff of asset recovery offices have the necessary specialised skills and abilities to perform their roles effectively.

3. Member States shall ensure that appropriate technical and organisational measures are in place to ensure the security of the data in order for asset recovery offices to access and search the information referred to in Article 6.

Article 8 - Monitoring access and searches by asset recovery offices

1. Without prejudice to Article 25 of Directive 2016/680, Member States shall ensure that the authorities holding the information referred to in Article 6 keep logs of all access and search activities by asset recovery offices in accordance with this Directive. The logs shall contain the following:

(a) the national file reference;

(b) the date and time of the query or search;

(c) the type of data used to launch the query or search;

(d) the unique identifier of the results of the query or search;

(e) the name of the asset recovery office consulting the registry;

(f) the unique user identifier of the official who made the query or performed the search.

2. The logs referred to in paragraph 1 may be used only for data protection monitoring, including checking the lawfulness of data processing, and for ensuring data security and integrity. The logs shall be protected by appropriate measures against unauthorised access and erased five years after their creation. If, however, they are required for monitoring procedures that are ongoing, they shall be erased once the monitoring procedures no longer require the logs.

Article 9 - Exchange of information

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that their asset recovery offices provide, upon request from an asset recovery office of another Member State, any information that is necessary for the performance of their tasks pursuant to Article 5. The categories of personal data that can be provided are those listed in Section B, point 2 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2016/794.

Any personal data to be provided shall be determined on a case-by-case basis, in light of what is necessary for the performance of the tasks pursuant to Article 5.

2. When making a request pursuant to paragraph 1, the requesting asset recovery office shall specify as precisely as possible the following:

(a) the object of the request;

(b) the reasons for the request, including the relevance of the information requested for the tracing and identification of the property;

(c) the nature of the proceedings;

(d) the type of criminal offence for which the request is made;

(e) the link of the proceedings to the requested Member State;

(f) details on the property targeted or sought, such as bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, companies and other high value items;

(g) and/or the natural or legal persons presumed to be involved, such as names, addresses, dates and places of birth, date of registration, shareholders, headquarters;

(h) where applicable, reasons for the urgency of the request.

3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable that their asset asset recovery offices exchange information with asset recovery offices of other Member States, without a request to that effect, whenever they are aware of information on instrumentalities, proceeds, or property that they consider necessary for the performance of the tasks of the asset recovery offices pursuant to Article 5. When providing such information, asset recovery offices shall set out the reasons why the information exchanged is considered necessary.

4. Member States shall ensure that the information provided by asset recovery offices pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 can be presented as evidence before a national court of a Member State, in accordance with procedures in national law.

5. Member States shall ensure that asset recovery offices have direct access to SIENA and use the SIENA system for exchanging information pursuant to this Article.

6. Asset recovery offices may refuse to provide information to the requesting asset recovery office if there are factual reasons to assume that the provision of information would:

(a) harm the fundamental national security interests of the requested Member State;

(b) jeopardise an ongoing investigation, or a criminal intelligence operation, or pose an imminent threat to the life or physical integrity of a person.

7. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that reasons are given for refusals to provide information. Refusals shall only affect the part of the requested information to which the reasons set out in paragraph 6 relate and shall, where applicable, leave the obligation to provide the other parts of the information in accordance with this Directive unaffected.

Article 10 - Time limits for provision of information

1. Member States shall ensure that asset recovery offices respond to requests for information pursuant to Article 9 paragraph 1, as soon as possible and in any event within the following time limits:

(a) seven calendar days, for all requests that are not urgent;

(b) eight hours, for urgent requests relating to information referred to in Article 6 (1), which is stored in databases and registers.

2. Where the information requested pursuant to paragraph 1, point (b) is not directly available or the request pursuant to paragraph 1, point (a) imposes a disproportionate burden, the asset recovery office receiving the request may postpone the provision of the information. In that case, the requested asset recovery office shall immediately inform the requesting asset recovery office of this postponement and shall provide the requested information as soon as possible, and in any event within three days of the initial deadline established pursuant to paragraph 1.

CHAPTER II - I

Freezing and confiscation

Article 11 - Freezing

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the freezing of property necessary to ensure a possible confiscation of that property under Article 12.

2. Freezing measures shall include immediate action to be taken when necessary in order to preserve the property.

3. Member States shall enable asset recovery offices to take immediate action pursuant to paragraph 2 until a freezing order pursuant to paragraph 1 is issued. The validity of such temporary urgent freezing measures shall not exceed seven days.

4. Property in the possession of a third party can be subject to freezing measures pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 where necessary to ensure a possible confiscation under article 13.

5. Member States shall ensure that the freezing orders pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 are issued by a competent authority and are adequately motivated.

6. The freezing order pursuant to paragraph 1 shall remain in force only for as long as it is necessary to preserve the property with a view to possible subsequent confiscation. Frozen property which is not subsequently confiscated, shall be returned to the owner of the property without delay. The conditions or procedural rules under which such property is returned shall be determined by national law.

7. Where the property to be frozen consists of entities that should be preserved as a going concern, such as undertakings, the freezing order shall include measures to exclude access to this property by the persons owning or controlling them while allowing for continued operations.

Article 12 - Confiscation

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation, either wholly or in part, of instrumentalities and proceeds stemming from a criminal offence following a final conviction, which may also result from proceedings in absentia.

2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of property the value of which corresponds to instrumentalities or proceeds stemming from a criminal offence following a final conviction, which may also result from proceedings in absentia.

Article 13 - Confiscation from a third party

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of proceeds, or other property the value of which corresponds to proceeds, which, directly or indirectly, were transferred by a suspected or accused person to third parties, or which were acquired by third parties from a suspected or accused person.

The confiscation of these proceeds or other property shall be enabled where it has been established that those third parties knew or ought to have known that the purpose of the transfer or acquisition was to avoid confiscation, on the basis of concrete facts and circumstances, including that the transfer or acquisition was carried out free of charge or in exchange for an amount significantly lower than the market value.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not affect the rights of bona fide third parties.

Article 14 - Extended confiscation

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation, either wholly or in part, of property belonging to a person convicted of a criminal offence where this offence is liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to economic benefit, and where the national court is satisfied that the property is derived from criminal conduct.

2. In determining whether the property in question is derived from criminal conduct, account shall be taken of all the circumstances of the case, including the specific facts and available evidence, such as that the value of the property is disproportionate to the lawful income of the convicted person.

Article 15 - Non-conviction based confiscation

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable, under the conditions set out in paragraph 2, the confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property as referred to in Article 12, or which was transferred to third parties as referred to in Article 13, in cases where criminal proceedings have been initiated but the proceedings could not be continued because of the following circumstances: 

(a) illness of the suspected or accused person;

(b) absconding of the suspected or accused person;

(c) death of the suspected or accused person;

(d) immunity from prosecution of the suspected or accused person, as provided for under national law;

(e) amnesty granted to the suspected or accused person, as provided for under national law;

(f) the time limits prescribed by national law have expired, where such limits are not sufficiently long to allow for the effective investigation and prosecution of the relevant criminal offences.

2. Confiscation without a prior conviction shall be limited to criminal offences liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to substantial economic benefit and only insofar as the national court is satisfied that all the elements of the offence are present.

3. Before a confiscation order within the meaning of paragraphs 1 and 2 is issued by the court, Member States shall ensure that the affected person’s rights of defence are respected including by awarding access to the file and the right to be heard on issues of law and fact.

4. For the purposes of this Article, the notion of ‘criminal offence’ shall include offences listed in Article 2 when punishable by deprivation of liberty of a maximum of at least four years.

Article 16 - Confiscation of unexplained wealth linked to criminal activities

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of property, where confiscation is not possible pursuant to Articles 12 to 15 and the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the property is frozen in the context of an investigation into criminal offences committed in the framework of a criminal organisation;

(b) the criminal offence pursuant to point (a) is liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to substantial economic benefit;

(c) the national court is satisfied that the frozen property is derived from criminal offences committed in the framework of a criminal organisation.

2. When determining whether the frozen property is derived from criminal offences, account shall be taken of all the circumstances of the case, including the specific facts and available evidence, such as that the value of the property is substantially disproportionate to the lawful income of the owner of the property.

3. For the purposes of this Article, the notion of ‘criminal offence’ shall include offences referred to in Article 2 when punishable by deprivation of liberty of a maximum of at least four years.

4. Before a confiscation order within the meaning of paragraphs 1 and 2 is issued by the court, Member States shall ensure that the affected person’s rights of defence are respected including by awarding access to the file and the right to be heard on issues of law and fact.

Article 17 - Effective confiscation and execution

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the tracing and identification of property to be frozen and confiscated even after a final conviction for a criminal offence, or following proceedings in application of Articles 15 and 16.

2. Member States shall consider taking measures allowing confiscated property to be used for public interest or social purposes.

Article 18 - Victims compensation

Where, as a result of a criminal offence, victims have claims against the person who is subject to a confiscation measure provided for under this Directive, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the confiscation measure does not affect victims’ rights to obtain compensation for their claims.

CHAPTER I - V

management

Article 19 - Asset management and pre-seizure planning

1. Member States shall ensure the efficient management of frozen and confiscated property until its disposal.

2. Member States shall ensure that, before issuing a freezing order within the meaning of Article 11 paragraph 1, competent authorities responsible for the management of frozen and confiscated property carry out an assessment of the costs which may be incurred in the management of the property which may be frozen, for the purposes of preserving and optimizing the value of such property until its disposal.

Article 20 - Interlocutory sales

1. Member States shall ensure that property frozen pursuant to Article 11 paragraph 1 can be transferred or sold before the issuing of a confiscation order in one or more of the following circumstances:

(a) the property subject to freezing is perishable or rapidly depreciating;

(b) the storage or maintenance costs of the property are disproportionate to its value;

(c) the property is too difficult to administer, or its management requires special conditions and non-readily available expertise.

2. Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the interests of the owner of the property are taken into account when issuing an interlocutory sale order, including whether the property to be sold is easily replaceable. With the exception of cases of absconding, Member States shall ensure that the owner of the property that may be subject to an interlocutory sale is notified and heard before the sale. The owner shall be given the possibility to request the sale of the property.

3. Earnings from interlocutory sales should be secured until a judicial decision on confiscation is reached. Member States shall take appropriate measures to protect third party buyers of property sold from retaliatory measures, to ensure that the property sold is not returned to persons convicted of the criminal offences referred to in Article 2.

4. Member States may require the costs for the management of frozen property to be charged to the beneficial owner.

Article 21 - Asset management offices

1. Each Member State shall set up or designate at least one asset management office for the purpose of the management of frozen and confiscated property.

2. Asset management offices shall have the following tasks:

(a) to ensure the efficient management of frozen and confiscated property, either through directly managing frozen and confiscated property or through providing support and expertise to other competent authorities responsible for the management of frozen and confiscated property;

(b) to provide support with pre-seizure planning to the competent authorities responsible for the management of frozen and confiscated property;

(c) to cooperate with other competent authorities responsible for the tracing and identification, freezing and confiscation of property, pursuant to this Directive;

(d) to cooperate with other competent authorities responsible for the management of frozen and confiscated property in cross-border cases.

CHAPTER - V

safeguards

Article 22 - Obligation to inform affected persons

Member States shall ensure that the freezing orders pursuant to Article 11, confiscation orders pursuant to Articles 12 to 16, and orders to sell the property pursuant to Article 20 are communicated to the affected person setting out the reasons for the measure.

Article 23 - Legal remedies

1. Member States shall ensure that the persons affected by the measures provided for under this Directive have the right to defence, to an effective remedy, and to a fair trial in order to uphold their rights.

2. Member States shall provide for the effective possibility for the person whose property is affected to challenge the freezing order pursuant to article 11 before a court, in accordance with procedures provided for in national law. Where the freezing order has been taken by a competent authority other than a judicial authority, national law shall provide that such an order is first to be submitted for validation or review to a judicial authority before it can be challenged before a court.

3. Where the suspected or accused person has absconded, Member States shall take all reasonable steps to ensure an effective possibility to exercise the right to challenge the confiscation order and shall require that the person concerned be summoned to the confiscation proceedings or that reasonable efforts be made to make the person aware of such proceedings.

4. Member States shall provide for the effective possibility for the person whose property is affected to challenge the confiscation order and the relevant circumstances of the case before a court, in accordance with procedures provided for in national law.

In the case of confiscation orders pursuant to Article 13, such circumstance shall include facts and circumstances on which the finding was based that the third party knew or ought to have known that the purpose of the transfer or acquisition was to avoid confiscation.

In the case of confiscation orders pursuant to Articles 14 and 16, such circumstances shall include specific facts and available evidence on the basis of which the property concerned is considered to be property that is derived from criminal conduct.

In the case of confiscation orders pursuant to Article 15, such circumstances shall include facts and evidence on the basis of which the national court concluded that all the elements of the offence are present.

5. When implementing this Directive, Member States shall provide that confiscation is not ordered to the extent it would be disproportionate to the offence committed or the accusation against the person concerned by the confiscation. When implementing this Directive, Member States shall provide that, in exceptional circumstances, confiscation is not ordered, insofar as it would, in accordance with national law, represent undue hardship for the affected person.

6. Member States shall provide for the effective possibility for the person whose property is affected to challenge an order pursuant to Article 20 to sell the property in question. Member States shall provide for the possibility that such an appeal has suspensory effect.

7. Third parties shall be entitled to claim title of ownership or other property rights including in the cases referred to in Article 13.

8. Persons whose property is affected by the measures provided for in this Directive shall have the right of access to a lawyer throughout the freezing and confiscation proceedings. The persons concerned shall be informed of that right.

CHAPTER V - I

Asset Recovery Strategic Framework

Article 24 - National strategy on asset recovery

1. Member States shall adopt by [one year after the entry into force of this Directive] a national strategy on asset recovery and update it at regular intervals of no longer than five years.

2. The strategy shall include at least the following elements:

(a) strategic objectives, priorities and measures for the purposes of enhancing efforts by all competent national authorities involved in the recovery of property as set out in this Directive;

(b) a governance framework to achieve the strategic objectives and priorities, including a description of the roles and responsibilities of all the competent authorities and cooperation mechanisms;

(c) appropriate mechanisms for coordination and cooperation at strategic and operational levels among all competent authorities;

(d) resources made available to competent authorities, including training;

(e) procedures for regular monitoring and evaluation of the results achieved.

3. Member States shall communicate their strategies, and any updates of their strategies, to the Commission within three months from their adoption.

Article 25 - Resources

Member States shall ensure that asset recovery offices and asset management offices performing tasks pursuant to this Directive, have appropriately qualified staff and appropriate financial, technical and technological resources necessary for the effective performance of their functions related to the implementation of this Directive.

Article 26 - Establishment of centralised registries of frozen and confiscated property

1. For the purpose of managing frozen and confiscated property, Member States shall put in place centralised registries containing information related to the freezing, confiscation and management of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property which may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order.

2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that asset recovery offices, asset management offices, and other competent authorities performing tasks pursuant to Article 4, 19 and 20 , have the power to enter, access and search, directly and immediately, the information referred to in paragraph 3.

3. The following information shall be entered, accessible and searchable through the centralised registries referred to in paragraph 1:

(a) the property subject to a freezing or confiscation order, including details that enable the identification of the property;

(b) the estimated or actual value of the property at the moment of the freezing, confiscation and disposal;

(c) the owner of the property, including the beneficial owner, where such information is available;

(d) the national file reference of the proceeding related to the property;

(e) the name of the authority entering the information in the registry;

(f) the unique user identifier of the official who entered the information in the registry.

4. The information referred to in paragraph 3 shall only be retained for as long as it is necessary for the purposes of keeping a record and overview of the property frozen, confiscated, or under management, and in any case it shall not be retained for longer than after its disposal, or to provide annual statistics as referred in Article 27.

5. Member States shall ensure that appropriate technical and organisational measures are in place to ensure the security of the data contained in the centralised registries of frozen and confiscated property.

Article 27 - Statistics

1. Member States shall collect and maintain comprehensive statistics at central level on the measures taken under this Directive.

2. Member States shall ensure that the statistics referred to in paragraph 1 are collected on a calendar basis and transmitted to the Commission on an annual basis, by [1 September] of the following year.

3. The Commission may adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 30 laying down more detailed rules on the information to be collected and the methodology for the collection of the statistics referred to in paragraph 1 and the arrangements for their transmission to the Commission.

CHAPTER VI - I

Cooperation

Article 28 - Cooperation with EU bodies and agencies

1. Asset recovery offices of Member States shall closely cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the purposes of facilitating the identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property that may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order in proceedings in criminal matters concerning criminal offences for which the European Public Prosecutor’s Office exercises its competence.

2. Asset recovery offices shall cooperate with Europol and Eurojust, in accordance with the areas of their competence, for the purposes of facilitating the identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or property that may become or is the object of a freezing or confiscation order made by a competent authority in the course of criminal proceedings, and where necessary to prevent, detect or investigate criminal offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures.

Article 29 - Cooperation with third countries

1. Member States shall ensure that asset recovery offices cooperate with their counterparts in third countries to the greatest extent possible, and subject to the applicable data protection legal framework, for the purposes of performing the tasks pursuant to Article 5, and where necessary to prevent, detect or investigate criminal offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures.

2. Member States shall ensure that asset management offices cooperate with their counterparts in third countries to the greatest extent possible for the purposes of performing the tasks pursuant to Article 21. 

CHAPTER VII - I

final provisions

Article 30 - Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 27 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from [date of entry into force of this Directive].

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 27 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 27 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of [two months] of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by [two months] at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 31 - Designated competent authorities and contact points

1. Member States shall inform the Commission about the authority or authorities designated to carry out the tasks pursuant to Articles 5 and 21.

2. Where a Member State has more than two authorities charged with the tasks pursuant to Articles 5 and 21, it shall nominate a maximum of two contact points to facilitate cooperation in cross-border cases.

3. By [... months after the entry into force of this Directive] at the latest, Member States shall notify the Commission of the competent authority or authorities as well as the contact points referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 respectively.

4. By [...months after the entry into force of this Directive] at the latest, the Commission shall set up an online register listing all competent authorities and the designated contact point for each competent authority. The Commission shall publish and regularly update on its website the list of authorities referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 32 - Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [date of entry into force + 1 year]. They shall forthwith transmit to the Commission the text of those provisions.

2. When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

Article 33 - Reporting

1. The Commission shall, by [date of entry into force + 3 years], submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council, assessing the implementation of this Directive.

2. The Commission shall, by [date of entry into force + 5 years], submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council evaluating this Directive. The Commission shall take into account the information provided by Member States and any other relevant information related to the transposition and implementation of this Directive. On the basis of this evaluation, the Commission shall decide on appropriate follow-up actions, including, if necessary, a legislative proposal.

Article 34 - Relation with other instruments

1. This Directive is without prejudice to Directive 2019/1153/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 56 .

Article 35 - Replacement of Joint Action 98/699/JHA, Framework Decision 2001/500/JHA and 2005/212/JHA, Decision 2007/845/JHA and Directive 2014/42/EU

1. Joint Action 98/699/JHA, Framework Decisions 2001/500/JHA and 2005/212/JHA, Decision 2007/845/JHA and Directive 2014/42/EU are replaced with regard to the Member States bound by this Directive, without prejudice to the obligations of those Member States with regard to the date for transposition of those instruments into national law.

2. With regard to the Member States bound by this Directive, references to instruments referred to in paragraph 1 shall be construed as references to this Directive.

Article 36 - Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 37 - Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.