Ooni Koda
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Newsfeed
  4. /
  5. Italy and Romania strengthen cooperation in the fight...

Italy and Romania strengthen cooperation in the fight against economic and organised crime, including in support of civil society

February 20, 2025

Over the last months, the Embassy of Italy to Bucharest, with the presence of a legal expert, cooperated at operational level with the Italian Asset Recovery Office of the Ministry of the Interior – International Police Cooperation Service (SCIP) on some pending requests for tracing criminal assets to be confiscated for the Romanian authorities.   The cooperation included, similarly, the recovery of the sums deriving from the execution in Romania of seizures of corporate and real estate assets seized from Italian organized crime networks, to be allocated to the Single Justice Fund FUG according to the Embassy’s press release.   As a result of this operational cooperation, a bilateral working group dedicated to strengthening asset tracing, seizure and confiscation activities met on 20 January. The mandate of ANABI in Romania and that of ANBSC in Italy, the regulatory frameworks on judicial control and administration, as well as the models and practices of destination and utilisation of confiscated assets were compared. In this context, on the Italian side, the role of the receivership was emphasised in order to ensure the continuity of commercial activity and the protection of jobs, aiming at reintegrating into the legal economy the businesses previously controlled by criminal groups.   Similarly, there was presented the innovative solution adopted at the initiative Interpol in Italy which generated Silver Notice, the new instrument designed to track illicit goods internationally.   Last but not least, the Italian Finance Guard illustrated new techniques for investigation for tracking crypto assets with the help of satellite instruments, including for anti-money laundering purposes.   On the Italian side, the bilateral consultations were chaired by Prefect Maria Rosaria Laganà, Director General of ANBSC, Cons. Antonio Balsamo, Deputy General Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Col. GdF Roberto Ribaudo, Director of the ARO Office of the Ministry of the Interior, Col. GdF Luca Cioffi, Head of the Analysis Office of the General Command of the Italian Finance Guard, Major Francesco Venditti, Officer of the Specialised Unit for Privacy and Technological Fraud of the Italian Finance Guard.   The next day, the Italian delegation took part in the conference promoted by the Romanian civil society on the theme of social reuse of the goods confiscated as awareness-raising tool in the fight against organized crime and active citizenship. The meeting took place with the initiative Democracy and Rule of Law capacity – building participative camp and benefitted from the collaboration between the Embassy, ANABI, the National Romanian Anticorruption Department, the European Centre for Legal Education Research, the Centre for Human Rights and Migration, Libera, Chance, Association for Cooperation and Sustainable Development. The restitution of confiscated property to local communities that have been dispossessed can be a step forward in Romania towards better and more conscious forms of social inclusion.  (Photo:https://ambbucarest.esteri.it/)  

Read in full - click here
Romania's CA deficit up 17% y/y to 8.1% of GDP in 12 months to August

Romania's current account (CA) deficit has narrowed marginally (-1.2% y/y) to EUR 2.66 billion in August 2025, bringing the CA gap in 12 months to August to EUR 29.6 billion (+17% y/y), or 8.1% of GDP, according to data published by the National Bank. The CA gap to GDP ratio thus eased slightly from 8.2% […]

PepsiCo invests USD 8.5 mln in new beverage canning line at Romanian plant

PepsiCo has inaugurated a new beverage canning line at its Dragomirești-Deal plant in Ilfov county, near Bucharest, following an investment of USD 8.5 million. According to the official announcement, it is the only line of its kind operated by PepsiCo in the Eastern Balkans. The fully automated line has a production capacity of up to […]

HBO Max available through Edenred Benefit platform in Romania

Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new partnership with Edenred Romania, allowing users of the Edenred Benefit platform to subscribe to HBO Max directly through their employee benefits account. The collaboration aims to make premium entertainment more accessible to employees across Romania, the companies said. Starting October 10, Edenred Benefit users...

Bucharest readies to welcome annual pilgrimage to Saint Dimitrie the New

This year’s pilgrimage occasioned by the feast of Saint Dimitrie the New, Protector of Bucharest, will take place from October 19 to 29. The event is one of the most significant for the Romanian Orthodox Church in the capital. The faithful will be able to venerate, aside from the Holy Relics of Saint Dimitrie the […]

Romania's Classic Unlimited launches series of concerts for families, babies

Classic Unlimited, the well-known organizer of classical music concerts in Romania, announced the launch of a new series of events dedicated to babies, pregnant women, and families, named Classic for Babies. Concerts with interactive sessions will take place in Cluj-Napoca (November 9), Sibiu (November 3), and Târgu Mureș (November 7), with two sessions per day, […]

One in three children in Romania live in poverty, new report says

More than one in three children in Romania, roughly 1.25 million, live in poverty, and the percentage rises dramatically to 75.8% for those whose parents have a low level of education, according to 2024 Eurostat data cited by Save the Children Romania. Children in rural areas face a much higher risk of poverty or social […]