FATF issues global asset recovery guidance, highlights India’s enforcement leadership

In a landmark effort to scale up the fight against money laundering and financial crime, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its latest publication — “Asset Recovery Guidance and Best Practices”

— establishing a strengthened global roadmap for identifying, freezing, managing, and returning criminal proceeds. The guidance accompanies one of the most significant global reforms to FATF standards on confiscation and international cooperation in more than three decades.

The FATF has called upon member countries to make asset recovery a policy and operational priority, using the guidance as a benchmark to safeguard financial integrity and ensure better outcomes for victims and communities. The enhanced standards introduce advanced tools such as non-conviction-based confiscation, extended confiscation, and unexplained wealth orders, enabling agencies to clamp down on illicit wealth even without a prosecutorial verdict.

India's role

India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has been front and centre in shaping these reforms. According to the ED’s statement on the FATF report, Indian officers played an “active role” in FATF’s technical work and negotiations over the past two years, contributing to drafting the revised standards and guidance.

Multiple Indian case studies included in the FATF publication showcase India as a model jurisdiction in asset-tracing operations, value-based confiscation, and victim restitution. This recognition, ED notes, underscores India’s growing global standing in financial crime enforcement.

“The significance of ED’s contribution has been widely acknowledged,” the ED in a statement said, emphasising that the inclusion of India’s investigative templates reflects the credibility and operational maturity of the country’s anti-money laundering framework.

Major Indian enforcement actions spotlighted by FATF

The FATF document refers to several success stories that demonstrate India’s ability to secure swift financial outcomes for victims and prevent dissipation of illicit assets:

• Agri Gold Restoration of ₹60,000 crore ($690 million) to defrauded investors high-impact domestic coordination and restitution


• IREO Group attachment of ₹1,777 crore ($204 million) worth of assets transferred abroad robust value-based confiscation


• BitConnect crypto scam seizure of ₹1,646 crore ($190 million) in crypto + ₹489 crore in other assets rapid action on digital assets


• Banmeet Singh drug trafficking case seizure of 268.22 BTC (₹1,300 crore / $29 million) and assets worth $1.1 million strong international cooperation


• Rose Valley scheme ₹538 crore returned to 75,000+ investors victim-centric return mechanism


• Pen Urban Co-op Bank fraud ₹290 crore benami assets attached for depositor compensation public-interest asset disposal


• The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, has also been spotlighted as a global benchmark for applying the doctrine of fugitive disentitlement — empowering authorities to confiscate properties of offenders who refuse to face trial.

New global standard: asset seizure without conviction

In a landmark shift, FATF now mandates that member jurisdictions:

1. Enable recovery of assets without criminal conviction when prosecution is not feasible

2. Grant agencies early ex-parte freezing powers

3. Strengthen interim management to preserve the market value of assets

4. Expand rapid, informal cross-border cooperation via channels including ARINs

The FATF guidance also stresses transparency, accountability, and restitution-first approaches to build public trust in asset recovery.

The ED's statement notes that India ensured the guidance addresses practical challenges faced by developing countries in complex cross-border investigations. India’s push for flexibility and early financial inquiry mechanisms has shaped FATF’s renewed emphasis on intelligence-driven international cooperation.