The Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia, Anna Vardapetyan, today participated online in the 36th meeting of the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of the CIS member states.

 

The Prosecutor General's Office reports that within the framework of the first agenda item, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan delivered a speech on the topic "Contemporary Challenges and New Solutions in the Field of the Return of Illegally Acquired Property from Abroad."

 

Anna Vardapetyan noted that the transnational nature of contemporary crime creates new challenges for states: assets (properties) acquired illegally can be transferred to different countries, registered in the names of interconnected persons, and transformed into other types of property.

 

"In this context, the return of assets should be viewed as a comprehensive process, from their detection and tracing to freezing or confiscation, judicial examination, recovery, management, and actual return," emphasized the Prosecutor General of Armenia, adding that the impossibility of criminal prosecution should not automatically imply the impossibility of returning illegally acquired property. In this context, the Prosecutor General of the Republic referred to the mechanism of asset forfeiture without a conviction (non-conviction based asset forfeiture).

 

 

Anna Vardapetyan presented Armenia's experience, noting that the adoption of the law on "Confiscation of Property of Illegal Origin" in 2020 established a legal basis for applying an independent civil law mechanism for the return of illegally acquired property.

 

In this context, emphasizing the importance of the effectiveness of international legal assistance, the Prosecutor General of Armenia highlighted that international cooperation should begin even at the stage of asset detection and tracing, enabling its operational freezing, confiscation, and preservation until the completion of the national judicial process.

 

Anna Vardapetyan also addressed the significance of the Council of Europe’s Warsaw Convention and its additional protocol adopted in 2026, emphasizing that representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia directly participated in the development of the protocol.

 

The Prosecutor General also presented the issues arising during international cooperation related to the differences between the legal systems of various states, the absence of similar mechanisms for civil asset forfeiture, as well as the limitations on the further use of information obtained informally as evidence.

 

Anna Vardapetyan emphasized the importance of further developing international cooperation in this direction, highlighting the rapid exchange of information regarding assets, the improvement of mechanisms for operational freezing and confiscation of property, ensuring the possibility of international legal assistance until the final judicial decision is made, mutual recognition and enforcement of judicial acts, as well as the effective management of confiscated assets.

 

 

 

In conclusion, Anna Vardapetyan stated that the return of assets is no longer just a matter of confiscation of property after the completion of the criminal process.

 

"This is a comprehensive process that begins with the detection of the asset, its location identification, tracing, and ends with the actual return of the asset. Our common goal is to ensure that there is no legal vacuum between the detection of the asset and its actual return," said the Prosecutor General of Armenia.