In Cyprus, real estate will be confiscated without a conviction for the first time

A Cypriot court has set a precedent by authorizing, for the first time, the confiscation of real estate without an initial criminal conviction. The measure concerns the seizure of assets whose lawful origin the owners were unable to prove in civil proceedings (in the context of the fight against money laundering).

Previously, the confiscation of property required the mandatory completion of criminal proceedings and a guilty verdict from the court. Now, however, a civil forfeiture mechanism has been launched, allowing the state to take suspicious assets into its ownership on the basis of the balance of probabilities and the owner’s inability to confirm the legality of their income.