The Senate approved the bill known in Spanish as “Proyecto de Ley sobre Juicios de Extincion de Dominio para el Decomiso Civil de Bienes Ilicitos” on Wednesday, 22 June 2016. Its aim is to prevent drug traffickers from recovering their seized assets after serving their sentences.
Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito and National District prosecutor Yeni Berenice Reynoso had lobbied for the passing of the bill to fight crime.
Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito encouraged the state to create new legal tools to seize assets obtained by organized crime and drug trafficking. The first domain extinction bill was submitted by senators Adriano Sanchez Roa, Julio Cesar Valentin and Charlie Mariotti last year.
A court order will be required for an expropriation to take place. The state prosecution service, nevertheless, will be responsible for carrying out an inventory and safeguarding the assets to prevent them from being transferred to third parties during the hearing process.
The bill will allow the state to expropriate goods acquired with illicitly obtained money. Recently drug traffickers who have made plea bargains in the United States have returned to claim millions of dollars worth of assets after serving short sentences.
The bill now needs to pass in the Chamber of Deputies.
As originally drafted, the bill will also attack administrative corruption. As drafted, it would be applicable to all government officials, both elected and appointed, whether or not they have worked for autonomous, civilian or military institutions. It will also affect spouses and other relatives.
