FATF revisions to shape confiscation regimes: ED Director Rahul Navin

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ED Director Rahul Navin said recent FATF revisions will shape confiscation regime assessments at the 11th ARIN-AP AGM in New Delhi. India, the host, handed over the presidency to Singapore for 2027. The meeting focused on asset recovery.

The recent revisions to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations 4 and 38 will shape how confiscation regimes are assessed in the next round of mutual evaluations, Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Rahul Navin said while concluding the 11th Annual General Meeting of the Asset Recovery Interagency Network-Asia Pacific (ARIN-AP) in New Delhi.The three-day meeting, hosted by the ED under India’s presidency of ARIN-AP for 2026, brought together prosecutors, investigators, asset managers, financial intelligence officers and policy practitioners from member jurisdictions and observer organisations to discuss cross-border asset tracing, confiscation, management and return of proceeds of crime. The meeting was concluded on September 30.In his concluding remarks, the ED Director said the exchanges at the meeting would help ARIN-AP members prepare for the next round of mutual evaluations by benefiting from each other’s experience. Referring to the revisions to FATF Recommendations 4 and 38, the Director noted that “these will shape how confiscation regimes are assessed in the next round of mutual evaluations, and that the exchanges at the meeting should help members prepare for it with the benefit of each other’s experience.”

Key Discussions and Meeting Theme

The meeting was held under the theme “Closing the Loop: From Tracing to Return”, focusing on the complete asset recovery process, including tracing of proceeds, confiscation, asset management and eventual return to victims or the exchequer.Discussions covered non-conviction-based confiscation, including issues relating to the standard of proof, reverse onus and proportionality, as well as the need for effective asset management to ensure that assets do not lose value between restraint and confiscation.The meeting also discussed restitution to victims, return of assets to the exchequer and social reuse of confiscated assets. India shared its experience of restoring assets to victims at scale under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Challenges of Virtual Assets and International Cooperation

The ED Director said asset recovery depends on financial intelligence, law enforcement cooperation, prosecution, courts and asset management working in sequence.The meeting also discussed the growing speed of virtual asset movement and the need for rapid engagement with service providers and blockchain analytics, cross-border tracing and the early experience of the INTERPOL Silver Notice.

Presidency Handover to Singapore

The AGM concluded with the symbolic handing over of the ARIN-AP Presidency from India to Singapore, which will lead the network in 2027. David Chew, Chief Prosecutor for International Engagement at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Singapore, received the presidency on behalf of Singapore and said: “Trust among members was fundamental to the success of the network.”ARIN-AP, launched in Korea in November 2013 and modelled on the CARIN network of Europe, is an informal network of law enforcement and judicial contact points dealing with the recovery of proceeds of crime in the Asia-Pacific region. It has 32 member jurisdictions and 10 observers. (ANI)(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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