Europe Protocol Adds Crypto-Assets to Cross-Border Criminal Asset Recovery Rules

Eight countries and the European Union signed a Council of Europe protocol Wednesday, Oct. 14, adding crypto-assets to cross-border criminal asset recovery rules and setting a three-day response deadline for urgent requests.

The measure supplements the 2005 Warsaw Convention, a treaty framework addressing money laundering and terrorist financing. The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted it May 15. The Council of Europe is separate from the European Union and has 46 member states. Crypto-assets are included within the wider framework for criminal proceeds.

Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and the United Kingdom signed alongside the European Union. The protocol sets out cooperation among asset recovery offices, financial intelligence units and other authorities working across jurisdictions to preserve and recover property.

For urgent matters, the protocol permits asset freezing or seizure without prior notice where appropriate. Asset recovery and asset management offices must answer cooperation requests within set deadlines, including a three-day limit for urgent requests. That deadline covers the response to a request, not the recovery of the assets.

Courts may confiscate property without a criminal conviction in circumstances allowed by the protocol and consistent with each party’s fundamental domestic-law principles. The provisions also cover property held by third parties while preserving protections for good-faith holders.

Victims and legitimate owners receive priority when confiscated assets are returned. Amounts above €10,000 are to be split evenly between the requesting and requested parties unless they agree otherwise.

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset said, “No state can recover criminal assets across borders on its own. With this Protocol, none will have to.”

The protocol takes effect after five signatories consent to be bound, including at least three Council of Europe member states. After a three-month waiting period, it enters into force on the first day of a month.