United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

South Eastern Europe

Asset Recovery Roadmap implementation in Kosovo (1)

16-17 June, Pristina, Kosovo(1): The UNODC team, led by the Regional Advisor on Asset Recovery and Anti-Corruption, met with relevant institutions in Kosovo(1) to discuss future cooperation on the implementation of activities as set by the Asset Recovery Roadmap for Kosovo(1). The roadmap was developed within the UNODC regional project "From Illicit Financial Flows to Asset Recovery," funded by the UK government.

Accordingly, UNODC met with the  Coordinator for Economic Crime and Corruption, the Prosecutor‘s Office, Kosovo Financial Investigation Unit representatives (FIU) and the Agency for Management of confiscated and sequestrated assets (AAPSK) to provide an overview of the regional initiative's asset recovery process objectives and progress and discuss the current capacity building needs, including needs to establish and position the future Asset Recovery Office, training of judges, prosecutors and other practitioners in asset recovery processes, development of technical knowledge products as well as international cooperation.

As part of the meeting with the AAPSK, UNODC visited storage facilities for sequestrated and confiscated property. The site offers space for storing vehicles and other miscellaneous items and evidence, but could be improved infrastructurally in order to maximize its use (including for auctions) and mitigate the risk of value loss. This challenge deserves a systematic solution that might include facilitating a discussion with potential donors for infrastructural projects but also looking at ways in which auction and selling processes can be expedited.

Building on this visit, UNODC will facilitate discussions in the coming months on the establishment of the Asset Recovery Office in collaboration with other jurisdictions in South-Eastern Europe and is prepared to provide guidance on Mutual Legal Assistance to strengthen the capacities of judges, prosecutors, and other practitioners, as well as provide niche technical support in the development of specialized databases used for asset recovery.

This activity contributes to SDG Target 16.4 to significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime.

https://sdg-tracker.org/peace-justice#targets