Summary

1. The consequence of these expectations and conception was appointing, in most EU countries, NationalOffices for the Asset Recovery.In Poland this role is fully fulfilled by the Department for Asset Recovery of the Office of Criminal Serviceof Police Headquarters, whose representatives com. Łukasz Mądrzejowski and Dagna Wierzchoń will discuss issues related to practical functioning of the office mentioned above in Poland.

2. System created in this way allowsnormal, fast and efficient exchange of information with similar offices appointed in othercountries, which plays a fundamental role in the areaof providing direct access of the contact point to data containinginformation relevant for asset recoveryderived from criminal activities.

3. The quality of this information, however, depends on legal systems operating in different countriesand databases available.

4. An example of a positive solution is Italythat use e.g. the "Progetto Molecola" (Molecule Project), i.e. a powerful computer systemconnected to multiple databases that are incurrent use in the banking system, orRomania, which belongs to rapidly growingEuropean countries in the area of property recovery..

5. Therefore, during the seminar, we will have the opportunity to hear presentations on "Experiences of Police in determining the assets of suspects in the country and abroad", of our foreign guests, i.e. Major Nicola Monfredy of the Guardia di Finanza of Italy and Andrei Elena Tirlei from the Ministry of Justice of Romania.

6. Poland belongs to the group of countries with serious limitations of access to the information contained in the bank and the treasury of tax databases, which often prevents rapid and effective action of the police.

7. The subject of the possibility of "Establishing and protecting the assets of offenders of criminal and tax crimes made in international trade" will be presented by Deputy Director of the Tax Chamber in Poznań designated by the Minister of Finance to direct the Office of the National Tax Information in Konin

8. Currently in Poland for many years, work has been underway to create the National Register of Bank Accounts, which the Polish police among others shall have access to.

9. Western patterns indicate that the problems of this type have long been noticed and prople have tried to resolve them, sometimes with difficulty, the German example, where after many years, the use of the BAFINsystem has been introduced - a central register of bank accounts, which can be used by the German police.

10. Activities of the GeneralInspector of Financial Information constitute support for law enforcement authorities to block financial means of entities implementingsuspicious transactions in local andinternational trade.

11. A special role in this respect is played by Cooperation Division of the National Financial Information Department of the Ministry of Finance. Its Chief Wojciech Ryżowski, who will discuss the subject of "Cooperation of GIIF with law enforcement authorities in terms of blocking financial means of entities implementingsuspicious transactions in local andinternational trade."

12. This division for many years, has also promoted the idea of constructive cooperation with law enforcement authorities with respect to the exchange of information about entities whose activities in the area of financial trading canlead at least to a suspicion of putting intocirculation financial resources coming froman offense.

13. Another element without which there would be noeffective system of asset recoveryin an international aspect is an active part in the preparatory proceedings of the prosecutor's office.

14. It is to the prosecutor that we address requests for orders for freezingproperty on - established in the country and abroad – suspects’ assets.

15. Only if they are approved of, the prosecutor’s office may apply for international legal assistance in physical safeguarding of property of suspects in third countries.

16. Without the constructive cooperation between the police andthe prosecution, many property safaguarding cases both in the country and abroad could not have been carried out.

17. A guest of the Panel will be a person who has always valued good relations of cooperation on the line Police - Prosecutor i.e. prosecutor Lucyna Szewczykowska- Head of the Visitation and Periodic Assessment of Prosecutors of Appellate Prosecution, who will present the topic of "Cross-border crime and safeguardingproperty in the country and abroad„s.

18. Summary International cooperation within broadly defined asset recovery gives the Polish Police fairly broad possibilities for actionon both operating and proces level.

19. An important problem of Polish officers remain, however, legal barriers preventing access todatabases, which contain importantinformation on assetsof ”straw men”/ suspects (bank or tax data).

20. In order to eliminate these barriers, they must be consistently pointed out in the context of international training conference, and others in which one of the main objectives is to exchange experiences and good practices.

21. These exchanges are intended to finally improvethe effectiveness of local solutions, often maimed and de facto looking through the prism of lossescaused by criminal groups, detrimental to both you and the citizens for whom, despite many obstacles, as the police of Greater Poland, we operate and will actively do in the future.