Law passed for managing crime-related assets

A draft law on managing assets confiscated over criminal activity was the last Finance Ministry bill to be voted in the plenary before elections.

The bill was approved in principle by ruling New Democracy votes alone.

In wrap-up comments before the vote, Deputy Finance Minister Apostolos Vesyropoulos said the new law means Greece now follows the practices of other EU countries such as Belgium, France, and Spain.

It also requires setting up a central online registry of all types of confiscated assets, whether material or not.

The bill included a provision to set up what he described as "a new private pension and investment program that could be provided by a wide spectrum of financial institutions throughout the EU, such as credit institutions, insurance businesses, investment businesses."

The new program will be called the Pan-European Individual...