The draft of an EU directive regarding "the confiscation of criminal assets following a final conviction" was approved, on December 17 by the European Parliament's Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
The proposal must be ratified by the European Council, which, says Romanian daily România Liberă, considers it "a formality", but first it must be approved by the Parliament in February 2014. "What is most likely is that the directive will enter into force before EU elections scheduled for May 2014, and member states will have 30 months in which to harmonise their legislation," the paper adds.
The bill aims to retrieve wealth derived from criminal activity which has been registered in the names of parents, friends or relatives.
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