Forfeiture of the proceeds of drug-related crimes: a Swedish point of view.

The Narcotics Drugs Act in Sweden provides for extensive legal means to trace, sequestrate and forfeit the proceeds of drug crimes. The sequestration and forfeiture orders are made by courts of law. As it is often difficult to prove connections between drug trafficking and property derived from it, certain possibilities of amending the national law are discussed with a view to overcoming these difficulties. Another problem arises when a court order to forfeit the proceeds of a given trafficking operation cannot be implemented, as those individuals to whom such order applies have neither domicile nor property in Sweden, though they may have property in their own country. Similarly, problems are also encountered when the proceeds of drug crimes are transferred abroad. Current co-operation between Governments does not provide effective measures to deal with these problems, and, for this reason, the authors are of the opinion that the Commission on Narcotic Drugs should consider the matter with a view to adopting an international agreement on mutual assistance between Governments in tracing, freezing and forfeiting the profits of drug crimes.