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Home » Consumer Information » White Collar Crime » Financial Crimes

Asset Forfeiture

As part of their efforts to fight against crime, the FBI practices asset forfeiture on those who are considered to be guilty of criminal acts such as money laundering. This agency behind this is a special task force called the Economic Crimes Unit II (ECU II). The ECU II has also begun to work with the FBI's Counterterrorism Division to utilize asset forfeiture in their investigations.

Definition

Asset forfeiture is the confiscation of any item that was either used to commit a crime, or obtained during a criminal act. For example, if a criminal used a truck to steal electronic equipment, both the truck and the electronics would be subject to forfeiture.

An asset is described as any item that holds value, including vehicles, personal property, cash or anything that can be purchased with money. Therefore it is at the discretion of the FBI to confiscate any and all of these items for a criminal investigation. People who are accused of committing a crime may have to forfeit property, unless it is determined that they were not guilty, or the assets were not used in, or obtained from a criminal act.

Forfeiture procedures

The FBI and United States Government has the right to confiscate assets in two ways: Civil and Criminal cases.

Criminal Forfeiture is designed to punish those who are involved in illegal acts. The assets that are confiscated will be held throughout the course of the trial for the accused party. If the suspect is declared to be innocent, the assets may be released, but if the suspect is found guilty, the future of those assets will be determined in a separate court case. Those who claim that assets were stolen from them during a crime may file for an ancillary hearing case in the hopes of proving ownership and having property returned.

Civil Forfeiture is used to confiscate assets that are considered to have been used in an illegal way, or for an illegal purpose. This action is take against the assets only, not against any person accused of a crime. The property that is confiscated for this reason is referred to as being "in rem", and the fate of these assets will not be related to a criminal case against the person that was forced to forfeit them. They will be dealt with in separate legal proceedings.

While both cases involve the same action - seizure of assets by the United States government - the two types of cases are viewed as completely separate issues and handled in their own specific manners.

Issues with asset forfeiture

The policy of seizing assets from suspected criminals has been viewed negatively by many. Those who are opposed to this procedure claim that it is unfair and gives government agents the ability to confiscate items from people who may be innocent. Since the assets are seized prior to a court case, the guilt or innocence of the person who is having their property taken away has not been proved. Some say this allows for too much governmental power and may infringe on the rights of the innocent.

A major argument against the concept of forfeiture is that the methods used to disperse and liquidate the assets are not strictly mandated. Therefore cash and valuable items may be used in any way the law enforcement agency that confiscated them sees fit. It has been claimed that these assets have been used for salary increases and personal gains for officers. In many cases, the costs involved for an individual to attempt to reclaim their property are so high that they will not be able to even attempt to reclaim them.

Government agencies have begun to use Asset Forfeiture as a method of punishing accused criminals and to confiscate items that may have been used in illegal activities. While there are some who protest this action, it is commonly used as a law enforcement tool.