Forfeiture of proceeds of crime as an instrument against organized crime, terrorism, white-collar crime and cybercrime

Abstract

His article analyzes the necessity and admissibility of forfeiture of proceeds of crime to effectively fight against organized crime, terrorism, white-collar crime and cybercrime. The starting point is Portuguese law, without prejudice to references to international, European Union and foreign Law whenever justified. Once delimited the concept of proceeds of crime and listed the reasons for the need to effectively combat illicit profit, the various forms of forfeiture of proceeds of crime are analyzed, including forfeiture of third-party assets and non-conviction-based forfeiture, extended forfeiture and civil forfeiture, as well as the way in which these forms of forfeiture make it possible to overcome the insufficiencies of forfeiture based on a conviction and the establishment of a link between the crime for which the defendant is convicted and the obtention of the profit to effectively fight the aforementioned types of crime. Finally, the purpose and legal nature of forfeiture of proceeds of crime and the admissibility of forfeiture under the evidentiary standard of civil procedure and legal presumption of the criminal origin of the assets incongruous with the licit income of the accused in extended forfeiture are also analyzed, concluding that both are admissible.