Why seized criminal assets in Moldova take years to reach the state budget
The Agency for Recovery of Criminal Assets (ARBI) processed 280 requests from prosecutors and law enforcement between January and December this year. During this period, the agency seized assets totaling 191.7 million lei.
Corruption and money laundering cases accounted for nearly two-thirds of these seizures. Specifically, corruption-related seizures reached 59.9 million lei, while money laundering cases totaled 58.8 million lei. These figures were released by Octavian Echimovschi, a former anti-corruption prosecutor and current expert at the Legal Resources Centre from Moldova (CRJM).
However, seizing assets does not immediately translate into recovered revenue for the state. Pavel Calpajiu, head of ARBI’s Evaluation, Administration, and Disposal Department, warns that the process can take years. The complexity of these cases requires a final, irrevocable court decision.
In 2025, the state budget collected only 11 million lei from enforcement orders in criminal cases. Calpajiu announced these figures at the "Justice Reform and Combating Corruption Forum" recently held in Chișinău.
"Recovery only begins after a final confiscation order," Calpajiu explained, highlighting the gap between seizing and forfeiting assets. "The extraordinary effort started in 2018. The first seizure assisted by ARBI was nearly eight years ago, in January 2018. Those seizures are only now reaching 'maturity'."
According to the same source, confiscated property is not always liquidated for cash. Under current legislation, many assets that are difficult to sell will be repurposed for public interest, including social projects.
In a broader context, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office seized criminal assets worth 1.16 billion lei in 2024. Confiscations and fines during that period amounted to 75 million lei.
Furthermore, data from Octavian Echimovschi shows that the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) seized assets worth 826 million lei last year. Confiscations and fines ordered by PCCOCS in 2024 totaled 42.5 million lei.
ARBI currently utilizes 38 databases to track criminal assets. The institution also exchanges critical data through international channels, including INTERPOL, CARIN, SELEC, and SIENA.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
