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Armenian Prosecutor General Highlights Asset Forfeiture Without Conviction at CIS Meeting
Yerevan, September 30 – Armenian Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan today participated in the 36th meeting of the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of the CIS member states, held online, according to the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office. Vardapetyan delivered a speech on the topic “Modern Challenges and New Solutions in the Field of Repatriation of Illegally Acquired Property from Abroad” within the framework of the first agenda item.
Anna Vardapetyan noted that the transnational nature of modern crime creates new challenges for states. Illegally acquired assets (property) can be transferred to different countries, registered in the names of affiliated persons, and transformed into other types of property.
“In these conditions, asset recovery should be considered as a complex process, from their detection and tracing to freezing or seizure, judicial review, forfeiture, management, and actual return,” emphasized the Prosecutor General of Armenia, adding that the impossibility of criminal prosecution should not automatically mean the impossibility of returning illegally acquired property.
Armenia’s Approach to Non-Conviction Based Asset Forfeiture
In this context, the Prosecutor General addressed the mechanism of non-conviction based asset forfeiture. Anna Vardapetyan presented Armenia’s experience, noting that with the adoption of the “Law on Forfeiture of Property of Illicit Origin” in 2020, a legal basis was formed for applying an independent civil law mechanism for the return of illegally acquired property.
Emphasizing the effectiveness of international legal assistance in this context, the Prosecutor General of Armenia stressed that international cooperation should begin at the stage of asset detection and tracing, enabling its operational freezing, seizure, and preservation until the completion of the national judicial process.
Anna Vardapetyan also touched upon the significance of the Council of Europe’s Warsaw Convention and its additional protocol adopted in 2026, emphasizing that representatives of the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office directly participated in the development of the protocol.
The Prosecutor General of Armenia also presented the problems arising during international cooperation, related to the differences between the legal systems of different states, the lack of similar mechanisms for civil forfeiture, as well as the limitations of using informally obtained information as evidence.
In this regard, Anna Vardapetyan emphasized the further development of international cooperation, highlighting the rapid exchange of information on assets, the improvement of mechanisms for operational freezing and seizure of property, ensuring the possibility of international legal assistance before the final judicial decision, mutual recognition and enforcement of judicial acts, as well as effective management of forfeited assets.
A Comprehensive Approach to Asset Recovery
In conclusion, Anna Vardapetyan noted that asset recovery today is no longer just a matter of property forfeiture after the completion of a criminal process. “This is a complex process that begins with the detection of an asset, the localization of its location, tracing, and ends with the actual return of the asset. Our common goal is to ensure that no legal vacuum arises between the detection of an asset and its actual return,” said the Prosecutor General of Armenia.
