The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and INTERPOL have launched a joint initiative to deprive criminals of illegally acquired assets smuggled into the legal financial and economic circuit marking a turning point in global efforts to recover illicit assets. Experts of both organisations want to prioritize cross-border tracing, seizure and confiscation of criminal assets.

While asset recovery should be a key pillar of a country’s approach to combating money laundering and terrorist financing, countries intercept and recover less than one per cent of global illicit financial flows, according to estimates by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. According to the FATF, stolen assets are often quickly moved out of countries and channelled to or through multiple countries, rendering the process of asset recovery complex and requiring lengthy international cooperation.

The first ever FATF-INTERPOL Roundtable Engagement (FIRE) therefore event gathered 150 high-level experts who highlighted the pressing need to: i) promote national policies and actions that prioritize the tracing, seizure and confiscation of criminal assets; ii) enhance operational cooperation at the national, regional and international levels; and iii) increase effective information sharing among public authorities and with the private sector.

During the roundtable, experts looked at the strategic and operational changes required at national and international level to ignite asset recovery and take the profit out of crime. These changes include a shift in law enforcement perspectives and culture, enhanced international networks and tools, and stronger legislation and global standards against money laundering pursuant to the FATF press release.