EU: MEPs vote to speed up freezing of assets of criminal origin

PARIS (Reuters) – MEPs on the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee voted on Tuesday a draft position on new rules aimed at speeding up the freezing and seizure of criminal assets.

The new law will “ensure fast and effective freezing operations” in the European Union (EU), and “faster compensation for victims”, the European Parliament said in a statement.

This new law will cover firearms trafficking, certain crimes committed within the framework of a criminal organization, and violations of EU sanctions. In their position, MEPs also propose illegal trafficking in nuclear material, crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, including the illegal seizure and sabotage of aircraft and ships.

The statement added that to accelerate the freezing of assets of criminal origin, “temporary emergency measures” could be deployed “if necessary”.

The European Parliament states, “Between 2010 and 2014, only 2.2% of criminal proceeds were intercepted in the EU, and only 1.1% of this was confiscated.”

(Writing by Zhifan Liu, Editing by Kate Enstringer)