Montenegro hosts a regional conference on confiscation of proceeds of crime

Montenegro will host a regional conference on confiscation of the proceeds of crime, which will be held on October 14 in Podgorica.

The hosts of the conference "Effective confiscation of the proceeds of crime in accordance with European standards" are the Ministry of Justice, the AIRE Center and the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative.

"We are witnessing that organized crime and corruption are key challenges on the way to the European Union in realizing the principles of the rule of law and the rule of law, not only in Montenegro, but also in the whole world. In this regard, the Government of Montenegro has taken a number of measures aimed at the necessary and effective fight against organized crime and corruption, and one of them is the adoption of a new law on confiscation of property benefits. In order to make a full contribution to the improvement and development of the rule of law and promote the European agenda and pursuit of justice of the Government of Montenegro and the Ministry of Justice, AIRE the center and RAI are committed to cooperation with key institutions (especially the prosecution, courts, judicial academy, police and authorities that manage confiscated property benefits). One of the results of this cooperation is certainly the organization of the above-mentioned regional conference," the Ministry of Justice said.

The conference will be held within the framework of the project "Fight against corruption and organized crime in the Western Balkans by strengthening regional cooperation in the confiscation of property benefits obtained through criminal acts".

The project has been implemented in six jurisdictions of the Western Balkans since 2019 and was implemented by the AIRE Center in cooperation with the RAI Secretariat, with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom.

"The goal of the project is to encourage regional cooperation, through the establishment of a regional network of experts for asset forfeiture, to contribute to the institutional dialogue between jurisdictions on comprehensive bilateral and multilateral agreements on the division of asset forfeiture, and to work on strengthening the capacities of key institutions," the AIRE Center concludes.