“This is a law – which nine blocks support – and that has already begun to generate actions like today’s, which presents a transparency record, which will allow us to know what assets there are. “The Good Restored project is a paradigmatic project,” Gutierrez added.
Margarita Stolbizerfrom Encuentro Federal, assured that “if the economy of crime is not attacked, and criminals and organizations can continue enjoying the assets that they illegally appropriate, there will never be effective justice.” Along these lines, the legislator maintained: “We must pursue the economy of crime that is precisely in those assets, that today criminal organizations continue to enjoy or end up being part of a State that, due to its own inefficiency, does not put them in the place where they should be.”
Esteban Abdala, Senator of Libertad Avanza, considered that “society as a whole is demanding that progress be made in this type of policies. I have no doubt that recovering these assets will be positive for society and also “It is a message for criminal organizations, in this case the economic sanction.”
Monica LitzaUP deputy, stated that this law is not from a Government, it is a law that Argentina needs. “They don’t know how important each of the signatures on this law is. It is not easy and it is not frequent in times of cracks and differences, but State policies have to transcend governments,” Indian.
Esteban Paulonanother deputy from Encuentro Federal, celebrated the political plurality on this issue, which is not so common these days. “It speaks clearly to how important and strategic this project is,” he said, continuing: “I represent the province of Santa Fe, which already has some experience in confiscated assets and the experience has been very positive. We have been carrying out this public policy for six or seven years, which has even had continuity with changes in government management,” he emphasized.
Furthermore, Paulón said that “the idea of being able to take advantage of these assets that were the product of criminal uses for public and collective use has a perspective of justice and reparation for a society that sees that finally what was the result of crime can have a positive contribution.” in society. Our block is committed to supporting this legislation, we hope that since it is an issue of such relevance we can discuss it.”
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Lucas Manjonproject coordinator Good Restoredrecalled that more than 60 organizations worked on the initiative and today it has the support of the majority of the blocks. “Today we are presenting this open source platform that has always been a challenge and a necessary issue to register and make transparent the confiscated assets that the State has in its possession, which is estimated to be equivalent to 0.4% of GDP and which currently depend on chance. “, he expressed in Congress.
Furthermore, Manjon added that Argentina is – after Italy – the first country that is trying to pass a law to manage assets confiscated from organized crime and that has managed to bring it to Parliament. “We ask those of us who are here today to continue trying to promote this law. The state is recovering assets but if they cannot be used, it makes no sense. It is a law that the judiciary, civil society, and also deputies worked on and deputies. It is a necessary law”, he emphasized.
What is the confiscated assets monitoring platform about?
The platform has a section of administration, where each institution or organization will be able to upload information about the different assets, including their location, the judicial case in which it was seized or confiscated (responsible court and prosecutor’s office), characteristics of the property (includes the possibility of uploading photos and specific data depending on the type of property), and its destination (auction or reuse), among other data.
The public part of the platform will make information available so that citizens can access the data, participate in the public policy of administration and reuse of assets and carry out adequate control of the management of the assets.
It is an innovative product that can be adapted to the realities of each of the institutions at the national and provincial level that want to implement it.
What is Restored Goods?
Good Restored for the dismantling of organized crime and the strengthening of civil society is a project financed by the delegation of the European Union in Argentina and implemented by Libera (Italy), the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ), the Multipolar Foundation and the Giuridico Circle of Argentinawhich seeks to ensure that assets, such as cars, boats, houses, fields, airplanes, among others, that have been the instrument, product and profit of complex criminal activities can be reused for social purposes.
Currently, in Argentina, assets seized in criminal proceedings are mostly administered by the Judiciary, but the system is functioning poorly, which harms society as a whole. It is estimated that the assets that the Argentine justice system has in its hands today are valued at at least more than 700,000 million pesos. For the most part, they are deteriorating and losing not only economic value (with the patrimonial damage that this entails for the State), but also symbolic value.
Furthermore, there are no objective criteria to determine how to use this institute in the different courts and tribunals. Finally, the information on these assets is incomplete and is in the hands of different organizations, making it difficult to know how many are in the hands of the State and their value, which in turn hinders their reuse.
The Restored Property bill in Argentina
With majority support from various parliamentary blocs, the project was presented in the Chamber of Deputies in May. Law on Administration and Social Reuse of Seized and Confiscated Assets.
If this proposal is approved, it would provide a real possibility of managing, preserving and reusing assets seized and confiscated for social purposes. In a context where violence associated with drug trafficking is growing alarmingly, there is a need to make changes in the actions of the Argentine judicial system in these cases.
In addition to the aforementioned organizations, judges and prosecutors worked on the drafting of the law proposal, and more than 50 social organizations accompanied its presentation.
If approved, Argentina would become the second case in the world and the first in Latin America.
What does the bill propose?
- Take advantage of the material resources recovered from organized crime.
- Make transparent the amount and management of assets recovered from organized crime.
- Develop state programs or programs managed by social organizations with the recovered resources.
- Guarantee the care of assets to preserve their value, both for the State and for the people involved in judicial processes.
- Place the management and administration of these assets in charge of a self-sustaining and specialized agency.
According to the promoters of the law, with these proposals, the project opens the discussion on “the need to establish a new rational, effective and transparent administration and disposal system.”
But also, “it allows us to think about a more efficient management process for these assets, generating appropriate tools for the fight against organized crime and allowing what was taken from the community to return to it.”
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
