Council of Europe Justice Ministers Meet in Strasbourg to Bolster Fight Against Global Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing

Justice ministers from 46 Council of Europe member states are convening in Strasbourg to modernize judicial responses to money laundering and terrorist financing. Facing a landscape where less than 2% of criminal proceeds are currently confiscated, the conference focuses on strengthening international cooperation and addressing threats posed by crypto-assets and artificial intelligence.

RMN News Europe Desk
New Delhi | June 12, 2026

On Tuesday, June 16, justice ministers representing the 46 member states of the Council of Europe will gather in Strasbourg for a high-level informal conference dedicated to combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Held under the Monegasque Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the summit arrives at a critical juncture as globalization and rapid technological shifts challenge the efficacy of traditional judicial systems.

The Scale of the Challenge: Criminal networks are increasingly exploiting the digital era to hide illicit assets totaling several billion euros, circumventing international sanctions and funding operations intended to interfere with democratic processes. The magnitude of the issue is highlighted by a startling statistic from Europol: currently, less than 2% of criminal proceeds in Europe are subject to effective confiscation.

Technology as a Double-Edged Sword: While technological innovations like decentralized finance (DeFi), crypto-assets, and artificial intelligence (AI) offer significant economic potential, they are also being weaponized by malicious actors. These tools facilitate the concealment and cross-border movement of illicit funds, making it significantly harder for competent authorities to detect, investigate, and prosecute financial crimes.

  Less than 2% of the proceeds of crime are currently subject to effective confiscation in Europe, according to Europol.

Strengthening the Legal Front: In response to these evolving threats, the Council of Europe is emphasizing its primary legal instrument: the Warsaw Convention (the Convention on laundering, search, seizure, and confiscation of the proceeds from crime and on the financing of terrorism). A new additional protocol to this convention has been introduced specifically to improve the recovery of criminal assets.

  The main challenge remains to translate standards into concrete results within national justice systems by ensuring effective investigations, successful prosecutions and the confiscation of criminal assets.

The central theme of the conference is the transition from theory to action. While a harmonized legal framework is largely in place at the pan-European level, the Council notes that the primary challenge remains translating these standards into concrete results within national justice systems. This requires more effective investigations and a marked increase in the successful confiscation of criminal assets.

The conference will be opened by Monaco’s Secretary of State for Justice, Samuel Vuelta Simon, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset. A formal declaration by the Presidency is expected at the conclusion of the event, outlining the unified strategy for the 46 member states moving forward.