Assets Recovery

Development of the „Initiative for a Clean Justice” Coalition

The Coalition Development Project “Initiative for a Clean Justice” , developed between 2014-2015, was organized by Freedom House Romania in partnership with the Expert Forum Association and the Romanian Center for European Policies, being supported by the Foundation for Civil Society Development. Subsequently, three monitoring and evaluation tools were developed: the Expert Report Forum on Political Clientelism , the Diagnosis Report on the stage of recovery of damages and confiscation of assets acquired through crime and the DNA Sustainability Index .

Conferences were organized in Bucharest and Cluj, with the participation of officials from DNA, DIICOT, the Government, the Presidential Administration and delegates from several embassies, as well as journalists.

Recovery of Assets Resulted from Human Trafficking

Recovery of Assets Resulted from Human Trafficking (conducted during 2016-2018) aimed strengthening the capacity of the judiciary and law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking. The project aimed to facilitate the identification, tracking, freezing and confiscation of instruments and revenues from human trafficking.

Together with partners Risk Monitor Foundation (Bulgaria) and Centro Ricerache e Studi su Sicurezza e Criminalità (Italy), Freedom House Romania organized six training sessions for magistrates and law enforcement in Romania, Bulgaria and Italy, as well as an international conference in Bucharest, in order to improve the investigation and examination of human trafficking cases. The event was supported by certain embassies in Romania, the European Center for Research and Legal Education and the National Agency for Fiscal Administration.

As a result, there have been identified which are the best practices and the way in which the data and information from the public sector are used in cases related to the investigation and prosecution of trafficking in human beings has been improved. A comparative report was conducted on the use of the Internet and open data in the investigation of the financial route concerning the cases of human trafficking. There were press releases about the project and a video story about a victim of human trafficking. One of the most important results of the project was the exposure of the Ţăndărei Case, one of the most violent criminal networks of child trafficking operating across EU. At the same time, the project launched a website pilot in the form of a database for magistrates and law enforcement involved in human trafficking cases.

Supporting the Confiscation and Recovery of the Proceeds of Crime in Romania