From apartments to vehicles, along with land, money or valuables that will be taken from individuals associated with crime will be returned to citizens in the form of "public goods." While describing them as "the fuel that supplies criminal activities," Interior Minister Ervin Hoxha spoke about the new strategy for managing "confiscated assets."
"There are a considerable number of buildings or premises that have been confiscated and put at the service of the public. Even the Agency itself works today in confiscated offices. Our goal is for the confiscated assets to maintain their value and possibly increase in value so that they can be inventoried as material goods at the service of citizens. Whether through use by state structures, or by giving them to private use, or by final sale at auction, double, as provided for by law," said the Minister of Interior, Ervin Hoxha.
To increase the effectiveness of the reuse of confiscated assets for social benefits, the European Union will continue to provide assistance.
"The issue of the proper management of assets confiscated from crime, the recovery of property from crime is the final phase of a long and grueling investigative process. All this effort to hit crime at its most sensitive point, which are assets and wealth, the transfer by court decision into the hands of state mechanisms marks the moment when a material good is finally separated from the hands of crime and passes to public services", said Andre Rizzo, Head of the Political Sector of the EU Delegation to Albania.
The conference "From Illicit Profits to Public Good: The Future of Confiscated Assets" meanwhile requested more cooperation from the State Police.
"The final outcome is the use by the state or the granting of properties for private use or the sale at auction according to the law. When a property from crime is separated from its generator then we can say that we have managed to win the main battle against organized crime. The police must be more willing to cooperate," said Juliana Hoxha, Director, Partners Albania for Change and Development.
From 2021, all seized and confiscated properties will be handled by a single Agency and under a special law. The government approved the draft law "On the Administration of Seized and Confiscated Assets", which resulted in the creation of a special registry that also includes immovable properties that are seized and created by organized crime.
This institution previously operated through DCMs, being subordinate to the Ministry of Finance. (A2 Televizion)
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