Seizure of assets - national proceedings

Australia

Australia - Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act No. 85 1987 (2018)

Part VI—Proceeds of crime
Division 2—Requests by foreign countries
Subdivision A—Enforcement of foreign orders
34 Requests for enforcement of foreign orders
(1) If:
(a) a foreign country requests the Attorney General to make arrangements for the enforcement of:
(i) a foreign forfeiture order, made in respect of a foreign serious offence, against property that is reasonably suspected of being located in Australia; or
(ii) a foreign pecuniary penalty order, made in respect of a foreign serious offence, where some or all of the property available to satisfy the order is reasonably suspected of being located in Australia; and
(b) the Attorney General is satisfied that:
(i) a person has been convicted of the offence; and
(ii) the conviction and the order are not subject to further appeal in the foreign country;
the Attorney General may authorise a proceeds of crime authority, in writing, to apply for the registration of the order.
(2) If a foreign country requests the Attorney General to make arrangements for the enforcement of:
(a) a foreign forfeiture order that:
(i) has the effect of forfeiting a person’s property on the basis that the property is, or is alleged to be, the proceeds or an instrument of a foreign serious offence (whether or not a person has been convicted of that offence); and
(ii) is made against property that is reasonably suspected of being located in Australia; or
(b) a foreign pecuniary penalty order in respect of which both of the following apply:
(i) the order has the effect of requiring a person to pay an amount of money on the basis that the money is, or is alleged to be, the benefit derived from a foreign serious offence (whether or not the person has been convicted of that offence);
(ii) some or all of the property available to satisfy the order is reasonably suspected of being located in Australia;
the Attorney General may authorise a proceeds of crime authority, in writing, to apply for the registration of the order.
(3) If a foreign country requests the Attorney General to make arrangements for the enforcement of a foreign restraining order, against property that is reasonably suspected of being located in Australia, that is:
(a) made in respect of a foreign serious offence for which a person has been convicted or charged; or
(b) made in respect of the alleged commission of a foreign serious offence (whether or not the identity of the person who committed the offence is known);
the Attorney General may authorise a proceeds of crime authority, in writing, to apply for the registration of the order.

Rome Statute

Article 93 Other forms of cooperation

1. States Parties shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Part and under procedures of national law, comply with requests by the Court to provide the following assistance in relation to investigations or prosecutions:

(k) The identification, tracing and freezing or seizure of proceeds, property and assets and instrumentalities of crimes for the purpose of eventual forfeiture, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties; and