Villas, cars and yachts: France seizes record haul of criminal assets

Louis Vuitton shoes and bags are presented at the Economy Ministry in Paris, where Agrasc sells goods from seizures and judicial confiscations - Copyright AFP

By Euronews with AFP

Published on 24/01/2023 - 16:22 GMT+1

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The Ministry of Justice recovered €771 million of crime-linked assets.

French authorities have seized a record amount of criminal assets, with more than €771 million recovered in 2022 -- an increase of 6.3% on the year before.

Among the items taken by the Ministry of Justice were luxury villas, cars, cash and crypto-assets.

The special unit set up inside the ministry to confiscate criminal assets has increased the amount it has seized every year since being established in 2011.

Officials attribute the latest success to the creation of four regional branches in Marseille, Lyon, Rennes and Lille, which have almost doubled the agency's workforce.

Three new branches are set to "open in the spring of 2023" in Bordeaux, Nancy, and Fort-de-France, said France's Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti confirmed this week.

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