Legislation concerning the state confiscation of assets obtained through criminal activity, titled the Asset Recovery Bill, has been submitted to Parliament. Introduced on behalf of the government by Ali Fazad, the member of parliament for Central Fuvahmulah, the measure is designed to block perpetrators of major crimes from utilising their ill-gotten financial gains and permanently close avenues for illicit profit.
Under the draft framework, the state would be empowered to seize both assets acquired through criminal behaviour and property used to commit offences, spanning money laundering, terrorism-related crimes, homicide, drug, human, and weapons trafficking, sexual exploitation, counterfeiting, corruption, and major organised crime. The statute authorises confiscation in tax evasion cases exceeding USD 32,425.42, and robbery, theft, embezzlement, or smuggling exceeding USD 6,485.08, alongside any major felony yielding property.
Legal action could proceed even for offences committed outside the Maldives or prior to enactment, allowing asset seizures regardless of whether an accused individual is convicted, subject to instructions issued by the Prosecutor General.
The legislation directs the executive branch to establish an independent Asset Management Authority under the Ministry of Finance And Public Enterprises within 30 days of enactment. Accountable to parliament, the agency would register, value, and maintain confiscated assets while managing victim restitution claims.
A Recovered Asset Fund would be established within 60 days to finance crime prevention and compensation. The bill outlines comprehensive foreign asset-freezing procedures, empowers the prosecutor general to seek international assistance, and accompanies companion amendments submitted to the Criminal Procedure Act.