The consolidation of Moldovan-French relations to improve the process of tracing and recovering criminal assets was the main topic, addressed during the first edition of the Moldova-France bilateral conference on the recovery of criminal assets, which took place today in Chisinau. The event was held under the auspices of the National Anticorruption Center and brought together law authorities from the Republic of Moldova and France. 

In his speech, the director of the NAC, Iulian Rusu emphasized that one of the common goals in the Moldova-France relationship is the execution of justice and the restoration of equity by providing mutual support to recover illegally acquired assets. "To achieve this objective, the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency, under the National Anticorruption Center works closely with its French counterparts. This cooperation is a successful one, materializing in concrete results, of indisputable importance, namely: the application of seizures on the territory of the French Republic in the amount of about 76 million lei or about 4 million euros, the application of seizures on valuable assets in high-profile cases, exchanges of experience with the relevant French institutions, as well as other outstanding successes", the NAC director pointed out. 

Present at the event, the president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, mentioned that this bilateral conference was expected in Chisinau and will serve as a good start for establishing a similar agenda with other countries. "We are grateful for the support that the French institutions offer to our authorities in the fight against grand corruption, but also in the recovery of the money stolen from our citizens. Accelerating the repatriation processes of this money is vital. Our European path and survival of our country, as a democratic state, depends on the progress we will make in this direction. I am convinced that this discussion platform, which brought together all the responsible authorities from the Republic of Moldova and notoriety from the legal system from France, will be useful in the sense of the exchange of good practices, which in the end will produce the expected results", declared the head of state. 

The Minister of Justice, Sergiu Litvinenco, appreciated the consistency of the Moldovan-French relations, from the last period and expressed his hope for a closer cooperation between the institutions. "The current Moldovan-French relations are consistent and are manifested by the support that France gives to the Republic of Moldova not only by supporting our European path, but also in the segment of recovery of stolen money. What we are discussing today is a current issue. Although investigations into cases of grand corruption are moving forward, asset recovery and confiscation are still taking place. At the political level, we are supporting with legislative changes the institutions responsible for the investigation and recovery of criminal assets. We have voted projects to help CARA organize its work efficiently so that when we have the first confiscation sentences, we shall have an institutional framework ready," Litvinenco pointed out. 

For his part, the Ambassador of the French Republic in the Republic of Moldova, Graham PAUL, confirmed the determination of the counterpart institutions to strengthen collaboration in the segment of the recovery of criminal assets. "The exchange of experience and the collaboration between the French experts from the Criminal Asset Identification Platform (PIAC), the Agency for the Recovery and Management of Seized and Confiscated. Assets (AGRASC) and the Moldovan experts from the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency (CARA) have brought productive results. I am convinced of the success of the bilateral conference, as it provides an opportunity to bring together international legal experts to share their experience in the field of seizure and criminal assets recovery. We will continue the bilateral dialogue with a view to establishing permanent contacts." 

During the day, the participants of the Conference have exchanged best practices in the field of investigating cases of grand corruption and tracing assets, originating from crimes, and established new directions of cooperation between the legal institutions of the Republic of Moldova and France. 

The event was also attended by the representatives of the EU Delegation in the Republic of Moldova, prosecutors, judges, but also heads of the criminal prosecution subdivisions within the authorities involved in the process of criminal assets recovery.