From exotic animals to art: €51.5m assets seized from crime suspects last year

The Asset Recovery Bureau, the agency responsible for confiscating criminals’ assets, seized more than €51.5 million worth of property and other valuable goods last year, a €20 million increase over the previous year.

This amount includes some €10.2 million seized in collaboration with the police in six cases they were investigating.

The seized assets include nearly €47 million worth of immovable property, nearly €2 million worth of tools, industrial equipment and material, €1.7 million worth of vehicles, €620,000 worth of furniture and domestic goods, €430,000 in nautical vessels, €142,000 worth of works of art, antiques, books and melitensia, and €72,000 worth of stocks which include spirits.

Moreover, €51,000 worth of exotic animals, €20,000 in jewellery, €6,700 worth of weapons and just over €1,000 in clothing were also seized.

These assets were seized from 88 locations in Malta and Gozo, according to the bureau’s annual report.

The bureau assisted the police in six cases in 26 of the locations, which together saw the seizure of almost €8.9 million worth of immovable property, €932,000 worth of vehicles, €230,000 in domestic goods, almost €51,000 worth of exotic animals, €2,000 in works of art and €16,000 worth of jewellery. 

The bureau reported an “exponential increase” in the number of cases it was involved in, as well as in the complexity of assets held by people in the criminal world. This forced the bureau to increase its human resources to broaden its expertise in exotic animals, weapons, accounting and stock management, industrial equipment, books and melitensia. 

During 2022, the bureau saw an “upward trend” in all types of court orders it processed, including freezing orders, variations orders and cancellation orders.

Commenting on crimes that lead to the seizure of assets, the bureau said that drug-related offences continued to be the most prevalent, followed by money laundering cases.

Upward trend

Throughout 2022, the bureau was heavily involved in the provision of international assistance and cooperation to law enforcement and asset recovery offices fighting crime across multiple jurisdictions. The number of requests received by the Maltese office steadily increased from 13 in 2019 to 64 in 2022.

In terms of frozen assets by the ARB in 2022, immovables represented the largest portion, with a value of almost €16 million, followed by bank accounts holding a total of €1.3 million and vehicles worth a total of €960,000. Another €624,000 worth of unregistered assets, nautical vessels and investments were also frozen in the year under review.

The ARB’s Asset Management Unit requires ample space to store and maintain seized assets so the bureau reached joint collaborative agreements with several other governmental entities and various museums to protect, store and maintain seized and confiscated cultural assets and specific works of art. Such assets are transferred for temporary safekeeping and storage to various museums, while they are displayed for public viewing and cultural appreciation.

To address the problem of space, the bureau is building a new compound in Ħal Far to securely store assets recovered from crime. Built on a footprint of 1,320 square metres, the building will preserve assets recovered from criminal activities, including jewellery, works of art, boats, trailers and cars.

The building will have five floors and an underground basement. The first floor will be dedicated to offices while a goods lift will be capable of lifting passenger cars and small trucks from the basement to the fourth floor.

Proceeds of crime seized in 2022

• Immovable property: €47 million
• Tools and equipment: €2 million
• Vehicles: €1.7 million
• Furniture and domestic goods: €620,000
• Boats: €430,000
• Art, antiques and books: €142,000
• Other goods, including spirits: €72,000