Overview
- The guidance operationalizes the recent overhaul of FATF standards on confiscation and cooperation, providing a practical handbook for investigators, prosecutors, courts, and asset managers.
- New measures highlighted include non-conviction-based and extended confiscation, unexplained wealth orders, earlier ex parte freezing, stronger interim asset management, and rapid informal cross-border channels such as ARINs.
- FATF cites assessments showing over 80% of jurisdictions remain at low or moderate effectiveness in recovering illicit assets, underscoring the need for legal reforms and capacity building.
- The package features more than 85 case examples and techniques, including U.S. blockchain tracing accepted in court, a CHF 313 million confiscation in Switzerland, and community uses of confiscated assets in Mongolia.
- India’s Enforcement Directorate reports active participation in drafting the guidance, with Indian cases such as Agri Gold, BitConnect, and Rose Valley showcased for tracing, confiscation, and victim restitution.