The Limburg public prosecutor's office recovered assets worth €1 million that had been hidden away by criminals, thanks to a pilot project implemented jointly with the tax authorities.
Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem wants to roll out the initiative to the rest of the country, Het Belang Van Limburg reported on Saturday.
With the help of the tax authorities, the investigators in Limburg were able to track down hidden wealth and have it confiscated. In addition to the proceeds of their crimes, the convicted criminals had their property confiscated.
The most spectacular seizure was that of a villa in the Dominican Republic.
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Convicted criminals regularly hide their money, for example by transferring their assets abroad or emptying their bank accounts, to avoid fines and seizures. A 2014 law was to have changed all that and serve as a tool for courts and police to quickly ferret out the convicted persons’ hidden assets, but this has not worked out as hoped.
The pilot project was thus launched in Limburg and, according to Het Belang van Limburg, it has been a success, recovering over a million euros in arrears, confiscations and damages.
The Brussels Times
