An Informal Conference of Ministers of Justice "From rules to results: a judicial agenda for the fight against financial crime" was held under the Monegasque Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF), recognising them as serious threats to democratic security, the rule of law, and the integrity of economic and financial systems.
In their declaration, they called for stronger investigations and prosecutions, enhanced institutional capacity and cooperation, improved asset recovery, effective public-private partnerships, and responses to emerging risks such as crypto-assets and artificial intelligence, while ensuring full respect for human rights.

On 15 May 2026, at its 135th Session in Chişinău, Republic of Moldova, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted an Additional Protocol to the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (CETS No. 198; Warsaw Convention).

The Additional Protocol modernises the legal and institutional frameworks for asset recovery, in response to increasingly sophisticated, transnational and technologically advanced criminal networks. It enhances the authorities’ capacities to monitor and suspend suspicious transactions and to confiscate assets, including crypto-assets, obtained through criminal conduct.

The Protocol will be opened for signature on 14 October 2026, in Strasbourg, on the occasion of the Octopus Conference. The states are invited to take this opportunity to affirm their commitment to advancing legal and institutional frameworks for criminal asset recovery by signing this important instrument.