EU Signs Protocol to Strengthen Asset Recovery and Anti-Money Laundering Cooperation

The European Union has signed the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe’s Warsaw Convention on money laundering, confiscation and terrorist financing, on 14 October 2026, the day it opened for signature in Strasbourg. The Council of the EU authorised the signature by decision the previous day.

The Protocol modernises the international framework for tracing, freezing, managing and confiscating criminal assets. Each party must establish or designate an asset recovery office, and asset recovery and asset management offices will be required to cooperate directly and within set deadlines. It also widens information sharing, allows joint investigation teams, regulates asset-sharing between states and covers access to information on bank, payment and virtual asset accounts.

The Commission says the text is consistent with the EU’s own asset recovery directive and its new AML package. The Protocol enters into force after five ratifications, including three by Council of Europe member states.

Article Credit: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-signs-protocol-strengthen-asset-recovery-and-anti-money-laundering-cooperation-2026-10-14_en