On November 4, 2025, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published new guidance and best practices aimed at strengthening global efforts to recover assets derived from criminal activity.
This document covers key areas ranging from modern financial investigations and swift measures to secure assets to safeguarding rights and returning funds to victims. As the authors underline, this guidance will help countries implement the significant amendments to the FATF Recommendations made in 2023, which provide a more robust toolkit for the recovery of illicit proceeds and for enhancing partnerships in the global fight against money laundering and other serious crimes.
For Ukraine, alignment with international asset recovery recommendations is particularly relevant given that, in November 2025, the process of developing a new national Asset Recovery Strategy commenced. Also, this Guidance:
- reflects the contemporary realities of transnational money laundering, technological developments, and global challenges, which makes it highly relevant;
- outlines practical approaches to extended confiscation, confiscation of property of corresponding value, and international co-operation — the very tools whose limited effectiveness has been highlighted in Ukrainian analyses and reports;
- emphasizes the importance of compliance with the principles of proportionality, proper procedural safeguards, and judicial oversight;
- stresses the importance of establishing asset recovery funds, clear procedures for the management and disposal of confiscated property, and public reporting, aligned with Ukraine’s need to strengthen trust in the criminal justice system;
- states that decisions on the use of confiscated assets should be guided by the interests of justice and victim-centred approaches. This is particularly relevant for Ukraine in ensuring the protection of victims’ rights;
- contains practical examples from 38 jurisdictions and international organizations. These case studies and best practices enable Ukraine to draw on comparative experience, avoid common pitfalls, and adapt the most successful models to its national context.
This document covers key areas ranging from modern financial investigations and swift measures to secure assets to safeguarding rights and returning funds to victims.
