The process of criminal asset recovery in the Republic of Moldova is not very different from the one applied internationally. At least, this is what international experts Radu Nicolae and Pedro Gomes Pereira claim in an exclusive interview.
In order to understand how the criminal asset recovery process works, the two experts mapped all its stages. Those involved will more easily understand the role of each of them in this process and why the interaction between all institutions is important at every stage.
“I believe that Moldova is not so different in terms of legal standards, because Moldova has ratified various international conventions such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the Council of Europe Conventions, and implements all the legal standards that are in line with those of the European Union”, said International Anti-corruption Expert Radu Nicolae.
Also, the International Expert in asset recovery structures, processes and policies, Pedro Gomes Pereira, considers that the Republic of Moldova does not need a reform in this field, but a cultural change in terms of the actors involved in the process of criminal asset recovery. More precisely, it is necessary for these tools to start being implemented in order to understand how they actually work in the Republic of Moldova.
“In my opinion, it is not a matter of legal reform, but more a matter of implementing what already exists, so that the actual effectiveness can be verified later”, mentions Pedro Gomes Pereira.
From the point of view of expert Radu Nicolae, it is important for judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Moldova to know that seizing, freezing or confiscating assets is validated and widely used tools at the international level as well.
The Criminal Assets Recovery Agency is a specialized autonomous subdivision within the National Anticorruption Center. CARA was founded in 2017, aiming at carrying out parallel financial investigations, as well as at seizing criminal assets. In the five years of activity, CARA has managed to identify and recover, in the country and abroad, goods and assets worth more than 6 billion MDL.
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This material was made with the support of the Soros Foundation Moldova, in partnership with the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency, an autonomous subdivision within NAC. The foundation does not influence the editorial policy of the Realitatea Press Group.