On October 29th, a roundtable discussion took place at the Supreme Court of Lithuania titled “Issues of Applying the Principle of Proportionality and the Standard of Proof in Controlling Illicit Enrichment”. The event was organized as part of the Criminalization of asset legalization in the system of criminal profit control strategies (LEKOSTRA) project, implemented by the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, which aims to examine the criminalization of asset legalization within the criminal profit control system. The project leader, Dr. Skirmantas Bikelis, delivered the introductory speech, presenting the research team (Dr. Darius Pranka, Dr. Laurynas Pakštaitis, and Goda Dainauskaitė), the project’s objectives, and its relevance. Due to the importance of the illicit enrichment topic, his points were reinforced by the Chairperson of the Criminal Cases Division of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, Prof. Dr. Gabrielė Juodkaitė-Granskienė, who emphasized that this discussion and interinstitutional cooperation are crucial in raising and answering questions about such criminal activities.

During the discussion, Dr. Skirmantas Bikelis presented the questions raised by the LEKOSTRA project and its interim results, providing real examples from cases collected and analyzed during the research. The discussion covered the variety of confiscation strategies known in Europe and highlighted two particularly relevant and debatable practical issues: the standard of proof and the use of indirect evidence in various confiscation strategies, as well as the requirements of the proportionality principle for confiscation strategies.

Following the presentation, judges from the Supreme Court and Vilnius Regional Court, representatives from the Prosecutor General’s Office, Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the Special Investigation Service, the Financial Crime Investigation Service, and the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, along with legal scholars, engaged in discussions.

This roundtable discussion is part of the project “Criminalization of Asset Legalization in the System of Criminal Profit Control Strategies” (LEKOSTRA), funded by the Research Council of Lithuania, under contract No. S-MIP-23-40.

Photo by the Supreme Court of Lithuania.