2001/500/JHA: Council Framework Decision of 26 June 2001 on money laundering, the identification, tracing, freezing, seizing and confiscation of instrumentalities and the proceeds of crime
Date: 2001-06-26
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: confiscation of property, fight against crime, money laundering, offence, organised crime, penalty

5.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 182/1

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title VI of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL FRAMEWORK DECISION

of 26 June 2001

on money laundering,

the identification,
instrumentalities and the proceeds of crime

freezing,

tracing,

seizing and confiscation of

(2001/500/JHA)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in partic-
ular Article 31(a), (c) and (e) and Article 34(2)(b) thereof,

Having regard to the initiative of the French Republic,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Council is determined to ensure that concrete steps are
taken to trace, freeze, seize and confiscate the proceeds
of crime.

(7)

Member States have subscribed to the principles of the
1990 Council of Europe Convention on Laundering,
Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from
Crime, hereinafter referred to as ‘the 1990 Convention’,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

On 3 December 1998 the Council adopted Joint Action
98/699/JHA on money laundering, the identification,
tracing,
of
confiscation
seizing
instrumentalities and the proceeds from crime (1).

freezing,

and

HAS ADOPTED THIS FRAMEWORK DECISION:

Account should be taken of the Presidency conclusions
of the European Council meeting in Tampere on 15 and
16 October 1999, and of the Presidency conclusions of
the European Council meeting in Vienna on 11 and 12
December 1998.

Article 1

Reservations in respect of the 1990 Convention

The European Council, noting that serious forms of
crime increasingly have tax and duty aspects, calls on
Member States to provide full mutual legal assistance in
the investigation and prosecution of this type of crime.

In order to enhance action against organised crime, Member
States shall take the necessary steps not to make or uphold
reservations in respect of the following articles of the 1990
Convention:

The European Council calls for the approximation of
criminal law and procedures on money laundering (in
particular, confiscating funds), adding that the scope of
criminal activities which constitute principal offences for
money laundering should be uniform and sufficiently
broad in all Member States.

The European Council in Tampere considered that, with
regard to national criminal
law, efforts to agree on
and sanctions
common definitions,
should be focused in the first instance on a limited
number of sectors of particular relevance, such as finan-
cial crime.

incriminations

The European Council
in Tampere noted that money
laundering is at the very heart of organised crime and
should be rooted out wherever it occurs. The European

(1) OJ L 333, 9.12.1998, p. 1.

(a) Article 2, in so far as the offence is punishable by depriva-
tion of liberty or a detention order for a maximum of more
than one year.

However, Member States may uphold reservations on
Article 2 of the 1990 Convention in respect of the confis-
cation of
the proceeds from tax offences for the sole
purpose of their being able to confiscate such proceeds,
both nationally and through international cooperation,
under national, Community and international
tax-debt
recovery legislation;

in any event

(b) Article 6, in so far as serious offences are concerned. Such
offences shall
include offences which are
punishable by deprivation of liberty or a detention order
for a maximum of more than one year or, as regards those
States which have a minimum threshold for offences in
their legal system, offences punishable by deprivation of
liberty or a detention order for a minimum of more than
six months.

L 182/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

5.7.2001

Article 2

Penalties

Article 6

Implementation

Each Member State shall take the necessary steps consistent
with its system of penalties to ensure that the offences referred
to in Article 6(1)(a) and (b) of the 1990 Convention, as they
result from the Article 1(b) of this framework Decision, are
punishable by deprivation of liberty for a maximum of not less
than 4 years.

Article 3

Value confiscation

Each Member State shall take the necessary steps to ensure that
the
its legislation and procedures on the confiscation of
proceeds of crime also allow, at least in cases where these
proceeds cannot be seized, for the confiscation of property the
value of which corresponds to such proceeds, both in purely
the
domestic proceedings and in proceedings instituted at
request of another Member State,
including requests for the
enforcement of foreign confiscation orders. However, Member
States may exclude the confiscation of property the value of
which corresponds to the proceeds of crime in cases in which
that value would be less than EUR 4 000.

The words ‘property’,
‘proceeds’ and ‘confiscation’ shall have
the same meaning as in Article 1 of the 1990 Convention.

Article 4

Processing of requests for mutual assistance

Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure that all
requests from other Member States which relate to asset identi-
freezing or seizing and confiscation are
fication,
processed with the same priority as is given to such measures
in domestic proceedings.

tracing,

Article 5

Repeal of existing provisions

Articles 1, 3, 5(1) and 8(2) of Joint Action 98/699/JHA are
hereby repealed.

1. Member States shall adopt the measures necessary to
comply with the provisions of this framework Decision by 31
December 2002.

2.
By 1 March 2003, Member States shall forward to the
General Secretariat of the Council and to the Commission the
text of the provisions transposing into their national law the
obligations arising for them from this framework Decision and,
where appropriate, the notifications made pursuant to Article
40(2) of the 1990 Convention. On the basis of this informa-
tion and a written report from the Commission, the Council
shall ascertain, by 31 December 2003, to what extent Member
States have taken the measures necessary to comply with this
framework Decision.

Article 7

Territorial application

This framework Decision shall apply to Gibraltar as soon as
application of the 1990 Convention is extended to Gibraltar.

Article 8

Entry into force

This framework Decision shall enter into force on the day of its
publication in the Official Journal.

Done at Luxembourg, 26 June 2001.

For the Council

The President

T. ÖSTROS