A daily news show on CCTV America dealt Tuesday with the DOJ’s civil and criminal asset forfeiture cases.
The show’s host, Anand Naidoo, formerly an anchor for CNN International, said forfeiture “is a legal tool that gives U.S. law enforcement the power to seize property and money suspected of being related to a crime, but the practice is controversial.”
“Originally it was seen as a way for police to target drug-trafficking and money laundering rings,” Anand said. “But law enforcement agencies across the United States now face growing criticism over allegations of widespread abuse of the practice.”
Appearing on the show were Stefan Cassella, a former federal prosecutor and expert on asset forfeiture and money laundering, and Eapen Thampy, the founder and executive director of Americans for Forfeiture Reform.
Also appearing was Richard Bistrong, a contributing editor of the FCPA Blog and the CEO of Front-line Anti-Bribery LLC.
Here’s a clip from the show. The full episode is available here.
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Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here.
1 Comment
Thank you Richard for a great analysis. According to the DOJ, the "primary mission of [asset forfeiture] is to employ asset forfeiture powers in a manner that enhances public safety and security." Obviously returning the proceeds of crime to corrupt individuals/organizations, would be contrary to this 'mission'. Using forfeiture as a means upon which to help a society, is clearly a far sweeter pill to swallow.
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