The Council of the European Union is proposing to sign an additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism, based on a European Commission proposal submitted on 13 July 2026. The draft Council decision, published on 14 July 2026, would authorise the signing of the Protocol, which significantly expands EU asset recovery and anti-money laundering powers.
The Protocol supplements and modernises the 2005 Convention (CETS No. 198) by adding new definitions for "financial investigation," "virtual asset," and "virtual asset service provider." It requires Parties to adopt extended confiscation of property from convicted persons for money laundering, terrorism financing, or listed offences, with optional reservations such as applying it only to offences punishable by at least four years imprisonment. The Protocol also mandates non-conviction-based confiscation where property derives from criminal conduct, with optional reservations for cases where criminal proceedings ended due to death, illness, absconding, or statute of limitations under 15 years.
Confiscation from third parties who knew or should have known that a transfer aimed to avoid confiscation is required. Parties must take urgent provisional measures to prevent asset dissipation, with temporary validity limits. The Protocol mandates access to financial institution and virtual asset service provider records, overriding bank secrecy. Proactive financial investigations are required for terrorism financing and major economic advantage offences.
A central automated mechanism for identifying bank, payment, securities, safe-deposit box, and virtual asset account holders must be established. Financial Intelligence Units are empowered to suspend suspicious transactions or accounts for up to strictly necessary duration. Asset Recovery Offices must be established with powers to take urgent provisional measures (maximum seven working days) and access to real estate, citizenship, business, vehicle, and beneficial ownership registers.
The Protocol significantly expands EU asset recovery powers by mandating extended and non-conviction-based confiscation, financial investigations, centralised account registries, and enhanced cross-border cooperation, while requiring robust data protection safeguards.
EU member states will face implementation costs for new registries and investigative units, but gain stronger tools to recover criminal assets. Financial institutions and virtual asset service providers must comply with expanded record-sharing obligations, overriding bank secrecy. Civil liberties advocates may raise concerns about data protection and proportionality of non-conviction-based confiscation. The Protocol strengthens EU-level cooperation in asset recovery, potentially increasing recovered funds for public budgets.
The Council is scheduled to adopt the decision on 20 July 2026. Following signature, the Protocol will require ratification by EU member states and other Parties to the Convention before entering into force.