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Eurojust’s structure, role in Bankruptcy and Asset Recovery related activities. Carlos Zeyen 1 st Deputy State Prosecutor National Member for Luxembourg Member of the CTT and FECT. Outline . What is Eurojust and its aims? Who works there? How does it work?
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Eurojust’s structure, role in Bankruptcy and Asset Recovery related activities Carlos Zeyen 1st Deputy State Prosecutor National Member for Luxembourg Member of the CTT and FECT
Outline • What is Eurojust and its aims? • Who works there? • How does it work? • Eurojust’s Bankruptcy and Asset Recovery related activities • Case examples • The Future
The European Union 27 EU States 30 Legal Systems 492.8 million people
The Background • European Union Principle Freedom of Movement • People Capital Goods Services • Minimal, if any, frontier controls • Mobility & relatively cheap travel • Computer and internet • Organised cross-border crime • Terrorism • Trafficking in Drugs • Trafficking in Human Beings • Serious Fraud (inc. fraud on EU Budget) • Car Theft • Cybercrime • Corruption
EJN • Established in 1998 • List of national contact points or intermediaries • Informal group • Task of facilitating judicial co-operation between EU States particularly in action to combat forms of serious crime • Enabling authorities to make the most of direct contact • Providing legal and practical information • Possible co-ordination functions
Mutual Recognition • European Arrest Warrant • Freezing Orders Property & Evidence • Recognition of Financial Penalties • Confiscation Orders • European Evidence Warrant
What is Eurojust ? • A group of 27 EU prosecutors / judges • One nominated by each Member State • Aim - • ‘to deal more effectively with serious cross border crime, particularly when it is organised, and involves two or more Member States’ - JHA Council Decision of 14 December 2000
Aims • Improve co-operation between Competent Authorities in Member States • Bring better co-ordination of cross-border investigations and prosecutions • Exchange of information • To make recommendations to change laws to improve MLA & Extradition arrangements
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Ursula Koller Michèle Coninsx Mariana Lilova Katerina Loizou PavelZeman Lennart Lindblom Raivo Sepp RitvaSahavirta Gérard Loubens Michael Grotz Lampros Patsavellas Ilona Lévai Jarlath Spellman Eurojust - Membership (1)
Italy Lithuania Latvia Luxembourg Malta The Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden UK n.a. Laima Cekeliene Gunārs Bundzis Carlos Zeyen Donatella FrendoDimech Arend Vast MariuszSkowroński José Luís Lopes da Mota Elena Dinu Ladislav Hamran MalciGabrijelčič Juan Antonio García Jabaloy Ola Laurell Aled Williams Eurojust - Membership (2)
Agreement with Norway 28 April 2005, Oslo
Liaison Prosecutor for Norway since 1 October 2005 Kim Sundet, joined Eurojust in November 2006
Agreement with the USA 6 November 2006, Washington
Cooperation agreements • Existing agreements with: • Norway (LiaisonProsecutor) • Iceland • USA (LiaisonProsecutor) • Croatia (not yet enteredintoforce) • Switzerland (not yetenteredintoforce) • The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (not yetenteredintoforce)
Cooperation agreements • Pending or potentialnegotiations: • Ukraine • RussianFederation • Montenegro (first meeting in July 2008) • Moldova (firstmeetingin December 2008) • Liechtenstein (firstmeetingin December 2008) • Cape Verde (first meeting in November 2008)
Memorandum of Understanding • Memorandum of Understanding • IberRED (signed on 4 May 2009) • UNDOC • ICC • EULEX Mission in Kosovo
Eurojust ThirdStateContactPoints • Montenegro • Norway (LP) • RussianFederation • Serbia • Singapore • Switzerland • Thailand • Turkey • Ukraine • USA (LP) • Albania • Argentina • Bosnia & Herzegovina • Canada • Croatia • fYROM • Iceland • Israel • Japan • Liechtenstein • Moldova • Mongolia
Number of coordination meetings 2008 • Inside Eurojust 110 • Outside Eurojust 22 • Total 132
HI-TECH MEETING ROOMS WITH TRANSLATION FACILITIES
Working at Different Levels • Level 1 • Plenary Meeting of all 27 National Members • Twice each week • Level 2 • Only those national members involved in a case • Level 3 • Investigators & prosecutors dealing with a case
OPERATIONAL COORDINATION MEETINGS LEVEL I - meeting F SL LU LEVEL II - meeting D L 27 National Members LU ... ... Concerned NM’s I PL SL D NL UK S UK BE LU LU SL D CONCERNED NAT. MEMBERS + JUDICIAL A/O POLICE AUTHORITIES OF CONCERNED COUNTRIES SL D LEVEL III - meeting SL D UK UK UK
An Integrated Approach Intelligence Confiscation of Assets Information Evidence
Eurojust’s Powers • Power to request competent authorities : • to investigate or prosecute specific acts* • to accept that one country is better placed to prosecute than another* • to co-ordinate with one another • to set up a Joint Investigation Team • to provide Eurojust with any information necessary to carry out its tasks*
Counterparts EUROJUST NON EU COUNTRIES NATIONAL AUTHORITIES OLAF EUROPOL EUROPEAN JUDICIAL NETWORK LIAISON MAGISTRATES
NORWAY ICELAND JAPAN CANADA USA SOUTH AMERICA Contact Points 2007 EUROJUSTCOLLEGE ’27’ RUSSIA CHINA AFRICA SWITZERLAND
Confiscation and Asset Recovery: Role of Eurojust
Statistics on cases registered in Eurojust – 2006-2008 18 cases in 2006 30 cases in 2007 55 cases in 2008 CRIME TYPES 1. Environmental crime 2. Participation in criminal organization 3. Drug Trafficking 4. Tax Fraud 5. Corruption 6. Crime against property 7. Illicit trafficking in arms 8. Money Laundering 9. Terrorism 10. Forgery 11. Trafficking in Human Beings 12. Counterfeiting and Product Piracy 13. Motor Vehicle Crime 14. Forgery of Administrative documents 15. Advanced Fee Fraud 16. Illegal transfer of Money 17. Attempted aggravated fraud 18. Organised robbery 19. VAT Fraud 20. Financing of Terrorism 21. Criminal offences affecting the EU community’s financial interests 22. Fraudulent bankruptcy 23. Murder 24. Cybercrime 25. Fraud by forged documents
Applicable legislative instruments • 2000 Palermo Convention (UN) • 1990 CoE Convention (Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation proceeds of crime • 2000 CD cooperation between FIUs • CFD 2001 on ML, identification, tracing, freezing, seizing and confiscating proceeds of crime • CFD 2003 EU freezing orders for property or evidence • CFD 2005 confiscation of crime related proceeds, instrumentalities and property
Applicable legislative instruments (2) • 2006 CFD application of mutual recognition to confiscation orders • 2006 CFD exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities • 2007 CD cooperation between AROs
Role of Eurojust • Facilitation of the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders • National Authorities should involve Eurojust for this purpose • Confiscation of crime proceeds a global issue • Need for a fast-tracking of asset seizure, freezing and confiscation proceedings • Cooperation with Europol
Role of EurojustNon conviction based forfeiture Eurojust as a body that congregates in the same building experiences and best practices of both judicial systems can facilitate requests coming from both jurisdictions and be an important link of cooperation and coordination between the Asset Recovery Offices either they are from similar judicial systems or from different ones.
Role of EurojustOvercoming obstacles - Ne Bis in Idem principle; - Dual criminality; - Assets’ sharing; - Conflicts between judicial systems;
Typology-AR (1) • Large scale investment fraud case • AT, LU, BE,FR,ES,UK and Switzerland • EJ: coordination and solution of conflict of jurisdiction
Typology-AR (2) • Operation “Balena Blanca” • Professional ML • Modus operandi • EJ: coordination/analysis/tactical/strategic
Typology-AR (3) • Drug Money • Searches – property in Portugal (bank accounts and real estate) • Germany and Italy • EJ: coordination and organization of searches and speeding up
Typology-AR (4) • Luxembourg-Spanish case • Description of the facts (BRAHIM – AL QAEDA) • EJ’s involvement and contribution
The Future : Eurojust’s Vision “To be the key player, and a centre of excellence, at judicial level for effective action against organised cross border crime in the EU”
Eurojust : Building More EffectiveJudicial Co-operation & Co-ordination