Improve Transparency in the Management of Seized Assets (RO0041)

Status quo or problem addressed by the commitment According to art. 40 of Law no.318/2015 for the setting up and operation of the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets, (1) ANABI publishes in an open format and on a quarterly basis data and public interest information generated from the national integrated information system for recording proceeds of crime. (2) Until the information system is operating, the Agency publishes, on a quarterly basis, data and public interest information regarding its activities. In addition, to ensure transparency in the process of reuse of immovable property, according to art.31, (3) ”the Agency publishes on its website updated information about each immovable property seized from criminal proceedings, including its legal situation, position, photographs, the date when it became private state property, as well as other relevant data” . Main objective Institutional transparency Brief description of commitment ANABI will develop a platform that will ensure access to information regarding the management of proceeds of crime OPG challenge addressed by the commitment Increasing public integrity More Effectively Managing Public Resources Relevance Access to information Ambition Ensuring access to information by publishing open data regarding seized immovable assets and their social reuse and public interest information about the Agency’s work. Uploading the data on the open data portal data.gov.ro.

12. Improve transparency in the management of seized assets

Commitment Text:

ANABI will develop a platform that will ensure access to information regarding the management of proceeds of crime.

Main Objective:

Institutional transparency.

Milestones:

6. • Develop the ANABI website, including publishing open data and public interest information.
   • Develop the national integrated system for the registration of proceeds of crime.

Responsible Institution: Ministry of Justice (MJ) through the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (ANABI)

Supporting Institution(s): National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF)

Start date: 2016                                                                                 End date: June 2017

Editorial Note: The commitment text is abridged. The full text can be found in the OGP 2016–2018 national action plan.

Commitment Aim

The National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (ANABI) is required by law 318/2015 to publish information on seized assets and properties in an open format on a quarterly basis. The information must be disclosed on the ANABI website until the National Integrated Information System (SIIN) is in place. [91] This commitment aimed to establish the ANABI website and the SIIN for the registration of proceeds of crime.

STATUS

Midterm: Substantial

By July 2016, the ANABI website was already operational and publishing public interest information on a regular basis.

The development of the national integrated system for the registration of proceeds of crime was only partly completed. Its funding was secured through the “Support for achieving the objectives of the National Anticorruption Strategy by increasing the recovery of proceeds from crime” project, which ANABI conducts in partnership with the Basel Institute for Governance. According to the government’s self-assessment, in May 2017, the Swiss experts presented a report on the IT instruments necessary for the management and mapping of the management of seized assets. ANABI then distributed the report to the relevant stakeholders (e.g. judiciary, public prosecutor, ANAF) and asked for comments.

End-of-term: Substantial

The national integrated system for the registration of proceeds of crime is not completed. According to the government’s self-assessment, until its completion, ANABI retains the data it receives from the public prosecutor and the judiciary. [92]

Did it Open Government?

Access to information: Marginal

ANABI offers reliable information to the general public about the amount of seized assets and the amount the state was able to sell and recover as public money. This data allows the countering of fake news in relation to the efficiency of the judiciary, [93] which is particularly relevant when public opinion is split on this matter. [94] Nevertheless, the ANABI system is not yet detailed enough to support detailed, evidence-based policymaking or the proactive detection of white-collar crime patterns, thereby contributing to the effective countering of corruption and of its ancillary crimes.

Carried forward?

This commitment is continued in the 2018–2020 national action plan as Commitment 13: “Improving transparency in the management of seized assets.”

[91] The text of law 318/2015 for the establishment, the organization and the functioning of the National Agency for the Administration of Seized Assets and for the amendment and supplement of certain normative acts, is available [in Romanian] at https://goo.gl/YRKsRR.

[92] “National Action Plan 2016-2018: Self-assessment report”, Open Government Partnership, 2018, pages 49-50, available [in Romanian] at https://bit.ly/2vv2yw7.

[93] For instance, in 2018 the work of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) antagonized the mass-media. Several national news outlets (e.g Antena 3) and former politicians (e.g. Udrea, Ponta) described their work as “abusive,” “politically motivated,” and “fabricated” evidence and indictments. (“Ponta: “Știam că se fabrică probe la DNA Ploiești. Grav este că deși sunt dezvăluiri nu se întâmplă nimic””, Antena3, 12 February 2018, available [in Romanian] at https://bit.ly/2Y9wE4B.) Other international outlets (e.g. Politico) and politicians (e.g. Macovei) describe their work as an example to be followed by other countries as well. (Andrew Macdowall, “The DNA of Romania’s anti-corruption success”, POLITICO, 15 April 2016, available at https://politi.co/2Viv7wf.)

[94] According to a 2017 European survey, 54% of Romanians tend to not trust the Romanian justice and legal system. (See “Designing Europe’s future: Trust in institutions Globalisation. Support for the euro, opinions about free trade and solidarity”, European Commission, 2017, Special Eurobarometer 461, available at https://goo.gl/48Ntq6).