Towards more responsible international asset recovery: The European Union should lead the way

In order to enhance the existing legal framework on asset recovery, the European Union (EU) will have to apply a ‘no safe haven’ policy to the proceeds of corruption and use all appropriate legal tools. We argue that a new EU instrument on asset recovery, modelled after the Swiss Law on Asset Recovery, would be a valuable addition to the EU’s legal arsenal against corruption, in compliance with its commitments under the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Such an EU instrument will deal specifically with the EU’s power to block the assets of foreign politically exposed persons (PEPs) and eventually facilitate restitution of these assets. Following the model of the Swiss law, a reversal of the burden of proof as to the origin of PEPs’ assets could be introduced in the new EU instrument. Judicial review should be wide enough to ensure fairness to the affected PEPs, balancing the new powers of the Council of the EU