Rafaela Dimitriadi
A bill bringing Cyprus into line with EU Directive 2024/1260 on asset recovery and confiscation represents an important tool in the fight against money laundering.
The bill, which implements the directive adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on April 24, 2024, was discussed today by the House Legal Affairs Committee. During the discussion, participants stressed the crucial contribution and cooperation of the Tax Department in moving cases forward.
Maria Kyrmizi-Antoniou, senior counsel of the Republic and head of the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS), said the directive and the bill aim to strengthen the national framework for recovering proceeds of crime.
The Jho Low case and the millions recovered
She said recovering criminal proceeds and depriving offenders of their illicit gains has been a priority in recent years for the responsible authorities: the police, MOKAS and the prosecution.
Pointing to tangible results, she said the freezing of criminal proceeds had increased severalfold, both in domestic criminal cases and in response to requests from abroad for freezing and confiscation.
An existing framework already allows proceeds to be frozen and confiscated, she explained. Confiscation without a conviction is also possible under current legislation, but its scope is limited. The bill would broaden it considerably. As an example, she referred to the confiscation of property belonging to Jho Low.
Presenting figures, Kyrmizi-Antoniou said more than €30 million in assets were recovered in 2025, compared with €8 million in 2024. The amount in 2026 is expected to be at least double the 2025 figure.
“In other words, €60 million.”
She also stressed that the bill contains particularly important provisions to further strengthen and improve the framework.
The committee heard that a police asset recovery service would be established to trace and identify assets in domestic criminal cases and cooperate with equivalent units abroad, MOKAS members, and other law enforcement authorities.
Police representatives described the bill as highly significant, saying it would give officers greater powers.
The provisions for confiscation without a conviction would be expanded to cover two sets of circumstances:
1. Confiscation involving people who are outside the jurisdiction, have died or are seriously ill, where there is prima facie evidence that they committed an offense generating criminal proceeds, directly or indirectly.
The committee heard that this provision already exists, but its scope would be broadened to allow confiscation orders covering criminal proceeds transferred abroad, as well as property of equivalent value.
2. For the first time, confiscation without a conviction of unexplained wealth linked to criminal activity within a criminal organization, subject to specific conditions.
The bill also provides for a specialized Asset Management Office. It would manage frozen assets until a final confiscation order is issued or the assets are released, with the aim of preserving their value. It would also enforce confiscation orders by selling the frozen property and recovering the amount due under the order.
The legislation would provide legal remedies for people affected by freezing orders, alongside safeguards protecting their property and other rights.
Finally, it would require the responsible authorities to prepare and update the necessary asset-related information according to specified criteria.
The committee discussed the bill’s general principles. Examination of its provisions will continue at subsequent meetings.
