Monaco Backs Tougher European Action Against Criminal Wealth and Hidden Assets

 

The Principality is among the first eight countries to sign a new Council of Europe protocol designed to improve the tracing, freezing and confiscation of criminal proceeds, including cryptocurrency, while strengthening international cooperation and protections for victims.

Monaco has joined a group of European countries backing a tougher approach to recovering money and property generated by criminal activity, signing a new Council of Europe protocol intended to make it harder for illicit wealth to disappear across international borders.

The agreement was signed on October 14, 2026, during the Council of Europe’s Octopus Conference on Cybercrime. Monaco was among the first eight signatories, alongside Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Montenegro, San Marino and the United Kingdom.

The initiative comes as governments face increasingly complicated challenges in tracing the proceeds of financial crime. Money can move between jurisdictions in seconds, ownership can be obscured through layers of companies and intermediaries, and digital assets can create additional obstacles for investigators attempting to identify and recover suspected criminal wealth.

For Monaco, whose international profile is closely associated with private banking, wealth management, luxury property and cross-border business, the development has particular relevance. Confidence in the Principality’s financial environment depends in part on the ability of authorities to identify illicit funds and cooperate effectively with their international counterparts.

The treaty is also an opportunity to examine how European countries intend to close gaps in existing asset-recovery systems, where delays, conflicting legal procedures and complicated ownership structures can make it difficult to recover money even after suspected criminal activity has been identified.

A New Chapter In Europe’s Fight Against Illicit Wealth

The new agreement takes the form of an additional protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism.

Rather than replacing the existing framework, the protocol is designed to strengthen and modernise it. Its focus is on improving the legal tools and institutional arrangements available to authorities dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.

The underlying principle is straightforward: identifying criminal activity is not always enough. If the financial benefits remain intact, criminal organisations may retain the resources needed to continue operating, recruit participants, influence legitimate businesses or finance further offences.

Asset recovery seeks to disrupt that cycle by identifying the proceeds of crime, preventing their disappearance and, where the law permits, removing them from the control of those who obtained them unlawfully.

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset underlined the wider democratic implications, warning that criminal money can finance organised crime and threaten democratic institutions. He also stressed that no country can effectively recover criminal assets across borders without international cooperation.

That point is central to the new agreement. Financial crime is often international by design, while the legal powers of investigators and courts remain tied to individual jurisdictions. The protocol seeks to make cooperation between those jurisdictions more effective.

Cryptocurrency And Complex Financial Structures In The Spotlight

One of the notable features of the new framework is its inclusion of crypto-assets.

Digital currencies and other blockchain-based assets can be transferred rapidly across borders, sometimes through multiple wallets and intermediaries. Although blockchain transactions can leave traceable records, identifying the people who ultimately control particular assets and securing those assets through lawful procedures can be complicated.

The protocol reflects the need for asset-recovery systems to keep pace with these developments. Investigators must be able to respond to financial activity that no longer fits neatly within traditional banking arrangements.

The same challenge exists with conventional assets. Criminal proceeds may be converted into real estate, company shares, investment portfolios, luxury goods or other property. They may also be held through corporate entities or arrangements involving several countries.

Such structures are not inherently unlawful, and international investment should not automatically attract suspicion. The issue arises when assets are connected to criminal activity and their ownership, origin or movement is deliberately obscured.

More effective tracing and information-sharing arrangements can help authorities establish the facts, determine who controls particular assets and pursue recovery where the legal requirements are met.