ANABI organised the Public Dissemination Event on the Audit of Romania's Asset Recovery System
The National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (ANABI) organised, on 24 September 2026 in Bucharest, the public dissemination event for the external audit report on the investigative capacity of the Romanian authorities in the field of confiscation and recovery of proceeds of crime, carried out under Programme Component 4 “Enhancing and modernising the Romanian asset recovery system”, funded through the Safety and Security Programme (Justice), under the Second Swiss Contribution in the field of cohesion.
The event was attended by H.E. Massimo Baggi (Ambassador of Switzerland to Romania), Ioan Turc (State Secretary, Ministry of Justice), Elena Grăniceru (Director General, ANABI), Iker Lekuona (Director, ICAR, Basel Institute on Governance), Rita Simões (Senior Specialist, Asset Recovery, Basel Institute on Governance) and Giacomo Solari (Head of the Swiss Contribution Office and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Switzerland in Romania), together with representatives of national authorities, partner European and international institutions and civil society.
The official opening of the event was marked by the address of His Excellency Massimo BAGGI, Ambassador of Switzerland to Romania. Opening remarks were also delivered, alongside His Excellency Ambassador Massimo BAGGI, by the Director General of ANABI, Ms Elena GRĂNICERU.
The findings and recommendations of the audit report were presented by Mr Iker LEKUONA, Director of the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) at the Basel Institute on Governance, and by Ms Rita SIMÕES, Senior Specialist, Asset Recovery, at the same institution.
The audit report, entitled “Enhancing and Modernising the Romanian Asset Recovery System”, prepared by the experts of the Basel Institute on Governance – International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR), provides an external and independent assessment of Romania's asset recovery system. The report highlights the progress achieved in the development of the system, identifies the vulnerabilities that continue to affect its effectiveness and formulates recommendations for strengthening institutional and operational capacity, in line with European and international standards and good practices.
Throughout the day, the discussions were structured around four thematic panels — Legal and Institutional Framework; Operational Asset Recovery; Management and Disposal of Seized and Confiscated Assets; and an inter-institutional round table dedicated to reflections, priorities and next steps — with the participation of representatives of the courts, the Public Ministry, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration, the National Office for Preventing and Combating Money Laundering and ANABI, as well as international experts from the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
The closing session of the event included addresses by Mr Giacomo SOLARI, Head of the Swiss Contribution Office and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Switzerland in Romania, and Ms Elena GRĂNICERU, Director General of ANABI.
The findings and recommendations of the report will support the development of public policies in this field, including the transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1260 on asset recovery and confiscation and the drafting of the National Strategy on the Recovery of Proceeds of Crime for 2027–2031.
ANABI will continue to cooperate with all competent national institutions and with its European and international partners in analysing and gradually implementing the recommendations set out in the report, with a view to consolidating a modern, efficient and interoperable asset recovery system and aligning it with the new European legal framework.
Referring to the event and to the importance of implementing the recommendations formulated by the international experts, the Director General of ANABI, Ms Elena Grăniceru, stated:
“Today's event brought together, around the same table, all the institutions involved in the identification, seizure, confiscation, management and recovery of the proceeds of crime, alongside our Swiss, European and international partners. The assessment carried out by the experts of the Basel Institute on Governance provides us with an objective benchmark for strengthening Romania's asset recovery system, and our partners' commitment to continue supporting us confirms the strategic nature of this undertaking. ANABI will continue to work with all competent institutions to translate the recommendations into concrete measures.”
The external audit report “Enhancing and Modernising the Romanian Asset Recovery System” is available on the ANABI website: https://anabi.just.ro/en/about-us/reports.
For further information, members of the press may contact ANABI at anabi@just.ro.
Bucharest, 24 September 2026
