The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Union and in coordination with the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-corruption Commission (JIACC) and the Anti-money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Unit (Jordanian FIU) convened a two-day roundtable with representatives of the financial intelligence units (FIU), law enforcement bodies and judiciary bodies of five jurisdictions from the South Mediterranean region to exchange on good practices in asset recovery and management of seized and confiscated assets.

Roundtable participants discussed the various forms of criminal and civil confiscation across their respective jurisdictions, highlighting the need to strengthen asset recovery as an essential tool in combating economic crime. Confiscation was recognised as crucial for disrupting illicit financial gains and deterring future offences. There were also discussions on the role of confiscation in reinforcing legal and ethical standards while enabling the return/recovery and sharing of illegal proceeds or their use for social and environmental purposes. Particular interest was given to strategies for seizing and confiscating virtual assets, a pressing issue for many jurisdictions.

The second part of the roundtable focused on the management of seized assets. The institutional arrangements required, as well as the procedures to be followed and the different management alternatives were at the core of the discussions, which also emphasised national and international cooperation for the efficient management of seized assets. 

Given that criminal networks often operate across multiple jurisdictions, successful asset recovery and management relies on effective international cooperation and mutual assistance between jurisdictions. On this topic, roundtable participants engaged with a representative of the Middle East and North Africa Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network (MENA ARIN), a network to be formally launched in July 2025 to strengthen asset recovery efforts through enhanced cross-border cooperation within the MENA region.

This roundtable served as a forum for expert practitioners and peer exchange on their challenges, good practices, and emerging trends in asset recovery and management of seized and confiscated assets, in view of the Financial Action Task Force’s evolving standards. The roundtable contributed to building networks across the region, promoting stronger informal and formal cooperation and legal assistance for asset recovery and management.

The regional workshop was organised in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe Programme “Protecting human rights, rule of law and democracy through shared standards in the Southern Mediterranean” (South Programme V), co-financed by the two organisations and implemented by the Council of Europe.