Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Guidelines
The FATF's new guidelines, named 'Asset Recovery Guidance and Best Practices', aim to enhance the global framework for recovering assets linked to financial crimes.
Significance and Reforms
- The guidelines introduce significant reforms to FATF standards, focusing on confiscation and international cooperation for asset recovery.
- They provide detailed steps for policymakers to effectively manage the process from identifying criminal property to its confiscation and return.
India's Role and Contribution
- India has played a crucial role in developing these guidelines, with its officials actively participating in drafting and meetings.
- Multiple Indian cases, such as the Agri Gold Group case, are highlighted as effective examples of asset recovery.
Key Provisions
- For the first time, countries are required to enable non-conviction-based confiscation.
- Tools like extended confiscations and unexplained-wealth orders are promoted.
- Emphasis on provisional measures to secure assets early, including ex parte freezing powers.
- Enhanced mechanisms for rapid and informal cross-border cooperation are recommended.
Case Studies and Examples
- The Agri Gold Group case resulted in the restoration of ₹6,000 crore to victims.
- Assets worth ₹1,777 crore were attached in the IREO Group case.
- The BitConnect Ponzi scheme involved the seizure of cryptocurrencies worth about ₹1,646 crore.
- In the Rose Valley Scheme, ₹538 crore was released to reimburse over 75,000 investors.
- The Pen Urban Cooperative Bank case saw assets worth ₹290 crore attached for restitution.
Coordination and Technology Use
- Indian practices emphasize coordination among law enforcement and financial intelligence agencies.
- Technology and financial data analytics are utilized in asset tracing and management.
Legislative Framework
India's Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act provide a robust legal structure for effective asset recovery and management.
