The enforcement of confiscation orders relating to a specific amount of money or item of property is permissible if the order is preceded by proceedings relating to a criminal offence and it has been issued by a judicial authority competent for criminal matters. In particular, a confiscation order which was issued without the (prior) final conviction of a person (“non-conviction-based confiscation”) is enforceable if it was issued in the context of criminal proceedings.
The request is to be sent to the public prosecution office in whose district the assets are located or in whose district the item of property is located. If the assets are located in various districts, then competence remains with the public prosecution office which has first seized in the case.
The public prosecution office obtains a decision from the competent regional court (Landgericht) in which the issuing state’s confiscation order is recognised. If the confiscation is authorised, the public prosecution office is responsible for subsequent enforcement; this responsibility also encompasses the duties of consultation and notification under Articles 21 and 22 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1805.