The Bureau de gestion des avoirs

The Asset Management Office (Bureau de gestion des avoirs, hereinafter “BGA”) was established by the amended Law of 22 June 2022 on the management and recovery of seized and confiscated assets, in line with the “crime does not pay” policy, which aims to combat economic crime by depriving criminals of the proceeds of their offences.

The BGA, which commenced operations on 1 October 2022, is a separately managed State service under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice.

The BGA’s remit includes the mandatory management of sums, whether cash or credit balances, debt receivables and virtual assets that have been seized, as well as the optional management of other seized assets and, at the request of the General State Prosecutor, the management of confiscated assets.

The BGA’s remit also includes, on the instructions of the judicial authorities, the disposal or destruction of seized assets.

It negotiates with foreign authorities on agreements for the sharing of confiscated assets based on a foreign decision.

It also has a training mandate on best practices regarding seizure and confiscation.

Finally, the BGA is responsible for the centralised and computerised management of data relating to seized or confiscated assets that do not constitute evidence.

The staff comprises a director, a deputy director and civil servants in the various pay grades as provided for by the amended Law of 25 March 2015 establishing the pay scale and the conditions and procedures for the promotion of civil servants. It may be supplemented by probationary civil servants, employees and State staff within the limits of the budgetary appropriations.

Management

The BGA’s management team comprises the Director, the Deputy Director, the Executive Assistant, the Lawyer, the Head of IT and the Executive Secretary.

• The BGA is headed by a Director, who acts as its chief administrator.
• A Deputy Director has been appointed to stand in for the Director in his or her absence.
• An Executive Assistant is responsible for managing the budget and human resources.
• A lawyer handles litigation and pre-litigation cases as well as legislative work.
• The IT department consists of a chief IT officer and an IT specialist.

Financial Products Department

The Financial Products Department is headed by the Deputy Director and includes a sums and virtual assets service (two case managers) and a securities and debt receivables service (one expert and one case manager).

Other Assets Department

The Other Assets Department is headed by the Executive Assistant and includes a real estate property service (one case manager) and an “other assets” service (2 case managers).

The BGA’s remit is to ensure:

1. the management of all sums, whether in cash or account balances, debt receivables or virtual assets seized during domestic or foreign criminal proceedings;
2. the management of all other assets, whatever their nature, where physical preservation is not necessary for the establishment of the truth and which requires management measures for their preservation or realisation, seized during domestic or foreign criminal proceedings, the management of which is entrusted to it pursuant to Articles 31(5) and 67(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure;
3. the disposal or destruction of seized assets, ordered pursuant to Articles 580 and 581 of the Code of Criminal Procedure;
4. at the request of the General State Prosecutor, the management of assets confiscated for the benefit of the State;
5. the centralised and computerised management of data relating to all seized and confiscated assets, regardless of their nature, which does not constitute evidence;
6. the organisation of information and training initiatives designed to raise awareness of its remit and to promote best practices useful for the execution of seizures and confiscations in criminal matters;
7. negotiating, on behalf of the Minister and in the name of the Luxembourg Government, with the governments of foreign States, agreements on the sharing or return of assets confiscated following proceedings based on Regulation (EU) 2018/ 1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the mutual recognition of freezing orders and confiscation orders, or in execution of a judicial decision ordering the enforcement of a confiscation order in accordance with the provisions of Articles 659 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The management of assets comprises:

1. for all sums, whether in cash or credit balances, their safekeeping with the Consignment Office, which holds them in accordance with the Law of 29 April 1999 on deposits with the State;
2. for sums of money that have replaced other assets disposed of or returned pursuant to points 2 and 3, their safekeeping with the Consignement Office, which holds them in accordance with the Law of 29 April 1999 on deposits with the State;
3. for seized virtual assets, their safekeeping in a wallet opened in the name of the Consignement Office, which holds them in accordance with the Law of 29 April 1999 on deposits with the State, or their disposal in accordance with Article 581 of the Code of Criminal Procedure;
4. for the management of debt receivables, their safekeeping and collection, through the State’s subrogation to the creditor’s rights;
5. for other seized assets:
   • the disposal of the seized assets in order to subrogate the proceeds obtained, pursuant to Articles 580(1) and (2) and 581 of the Code of Criminal Procedure;
   • the return of the seized assets upon payment of a sum of money, in order to substitute that sum for the assets;
   • the collection and retention in kind of the seized assets, depending on the available resources.