I was in Bulgaria last week, comparing notes with colleagues in our Embassy in Sofia. Asset recovery is an issue in both Romania and Bulgaria at the moment. The Bulgarian government has developed a new draft law on Asset Forfeiture which is now being debated in the Parliament. Last month the European Commission for Democracy through Law, the ‘Venice Commission’ gave its opinion on the draft, confirming its compatibility with international human rights standards and recommending its adoption by the parliament.
The Parliament in Bucharest is also debating new provisions for asset recovery in Romania. This matters to the UK. We enjoy excellent cooperation with the Romanian police in investigating and prosecuting cross-border crime. For this to be fully effective, we need to go after the proceeds of crime, not just the criminals themselves. There is real concern in the UK that criminals should not be able to use their ill-gotten gains to build huge houses and buy expensive cars elsewhere in Europe. The motivation for many crimes is money. We need to show that crime does not pay, and deprive the criminal networks of the money and other assets that they use to fund and expand their operations. So a robust system for asset recovery is part and parcel of an effective system for cooperation between British and Romanian police forces in tackling crime across Europe. We will continue to provide advice and support to Romania in establishing its systems for confiscating the proceeds of crime.