Part III Enforcement, 19 Asset Recovery

Subject(s):

Economic, social, and cultural rights — Remedies and costs

Recovery of the instruments or proceeds of crime is problematic for most states because the assets to be recovered are many steps away from the original offence, have often been transformed into other forms of property, and are held in a situation practically impossible to link to the crime, difficulties compounded when the assets are in another state. This chapter examines the international development of asset recovery laws. It looks at provision in the suppression conventions for interim measures such as seizure, criminal confiscation, and civil forfeiture, transnational asset recovery, and the dispersal of the assets. It concludes with a brief comment on the human rights implications and effectiveness of asset recovery.