Confiscation and extended confiscation lawyer in Bucharest

I check:

• the legal basis invoked: special or extended confiscation;
• the concrete category in which the assets are placed;
• whether the offence allows extended confiscation, according to the statutory list;
• the penalty provided by law for the offence investigated;
• the reference period for the assets acquired;
• the lawful income during the period analysed;
• tax documents, contracts and bank statements;
• how the difference between income and assets was calculated;
• whether the asset was transferred to a third party and under what conditions;
• whether the asset can be replaced by its monetary equivalent;
• the relationship between confiscation and the civil damages claimed;
• the valuation of the assets and any calculation errors.

Special confiscation is a safety measure provided by art. 112 of the Criminal Code. Through it, certain assets pass definitively into state ownership.

Subject to special confiscation are:

• assets produced by committing the act provided by criminal law;
• assets used, in any way, or intended to be used to commit the act, if they belong to the perpetrator or to another person who knew the purpose of their use;
• assets used immediately after the act to secure the perpetrator's escape or to keep the benefit or product obtained;
• assets given to determine the commission of an act provided by criminal law or to reward the perpetrator;
• assets acquired by committing the act provided by criminal law, if they are not returned to the injured person;
• assets whose possession is prohibited by criminal law.

If the assets cannot be found, their monetary equivalent or the assets acquired in their place are confiscated.

Extended confiscation is regulated by art. 112^1 of the Criminal Code and concerns assets other than those directly linked to the offence for which the conviction was ordered.

Several conditions must be met:

• the person must be convicted of one of the offences expressly listed by law;
• the penalty provided by law for that offence must be imprisonment of 4 years or more;
• the act must be capable of procuring a material benefit;
• the value of the assets acquired during the reference period must clearly exceed lawfully obtained income;
• the court must be convinced that the assets derive from criminal activities of the kind for which the conviction was ordered.

The period analysed is the 5 years before and, where applicable, after the offence, up to the date the court is seised.

Special confiscation concerns assets directly linked to the offence: proceeds, means used, amounts given or received.

Extended confiscation concerns a broader estate acquired over a defined period and requires a conviction for an offence from the statutory list.

Special confiscation can also be ordered without a conviction, for example when the case is closed, under the conditions provided by law. Extended confiscation cannot be ordered without a conviction.

For extended confiscation, the analysis starts from a comparison between the assets acquired and lawful income during the reference period.

The defence is built with documents:

• employment contracts, income certificates and tax returns;
• dividends and income from independent activities;
• contracts for the sale of previously owned assets;
• bank loans and loan agreements;
• donations and inheritances;
• income of family members who contributed to the purchase;
• amounts received from abroad, with the transfer documents.

Each acquisition should be explained chronologically, with the corresponding documents, and the prosecution's calculation must be verified in detail.

The law allows confiscation of assets transferred to a family member or to a legal entity controlled by the convicted person, as well as of assets transferred to a third party who knew the purpose of the transfer.

A good faith third party who paid a real price and can prove the payment can defend its right in the criminal proceedings. Payment documents and proof of sources are therefore essential.

When the offence caused damage to a person, the amounts may first be used to compensate that damage, and confiscation concerns what remains.

In business cases the two frequently overlap, and the strategy must be aligned with the defence on the merits, for example in tax evasion cases or in files concerning money laundering and asset concealment.

The confiscation ruling can be challenged separately from the finding on guilt.

On appeal one can invoke:

• lack of the legal conditions for extended confiscation;
• wrong classification of the assets under art. 112 of the Criminal Code;
• calculation errors regarding lawful income;
• documents on file that were ignored;
• confiscation of assets belonging to good faith third parties;
• disproportion between the value confiscated and the benefit found.

• I identify exactly which assets are targeted and on what basis;
• I reconstruct the income situation for the reference period;
• I gather and organise the documents for each acquisition;
• I verify the prosecution's calculations and the valuation of the assets;
• I file requests and written conclusions on the confiscation issue;
• I argue the position before the court and, where needed, on appeal.