In the Czech Republic, they came up with a way to legally take money from Russians

By the end of the year, the Czech Ministry of Justice will prepare a bill aimed at preventing money laundering from Russia. This was reported in the press service of the department.

"The purpose of the draft law being prepared is to allow the withdrawal of suspicious assets identified during criminal proceedings that cannot be effectively withdrawn under the current rules. The property can be withdrawn provided that the court, on the basis of all the circumstances of the case or suspicious facts, the existence of which is proved by the prosecutor, comes to the conclusion that the property is of illegal origin," the Ministry of Justice said.

It is assumed that the prosecutor will initiate a special procedure for the withdrawal of assets with unclear origin, and the criminal court will conclude the case with a ruling. In this case, all types of evidence can be used, including wiretapping of telephone conversations.

"Thus, within the framework of the special procedure for the siphoning of assets, it should be possible to siphon assets in connection with the procedure for serious laundering of proceeds of crime, according to which, although a person cannot be convicted due to the lack of identification of a predicate crime, assets of illicit origin can be siphoned off, since their siphoning does not require identification of a crime from which these assets were received," the Czech Ministry of Justice explained.

The stolen funds are likely to become state budget revenue. The draft law on the withdrawal of assets of illicit origin (the so-called flow accounts) should be ready by December 31, 2024. Ministry officials will send it for interdepartmental approval during October. At the same time, the law will have to be brought into line with the European directive on criminal confiscation, which adheres to a similar point of view and which the Czech Republic will have to apply.

Recall that the Czech Republic pursues an openly anti-Russian policy and is one of the main initiators of Russophobia in the EU. Prague believes that Russians launder their funds from criminal activities through Czech banks. Currently, the Financial Analysis Department of the Republic can only freeze funds, but it is not possible to prove that they were obtained as a result of any crimes, and therefore, after some time, they are released into circulation again. In 2023, a working group on this issue was established in the country, which included representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs, the National Center for Combating Organized Crime, the Financial Analysis Department and other institutions to work out how to prevent such practices.