Phase 1

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Supporting Moldova in confiscating and recovering stolen assets (CRESTA)

In its path towards viable democracy, Moldova has to demonstrate commitment to some core values and standards, including the rule of law, which entails deep anti-corruption reforms. Whilst the country has adopted significant national legislation to fight corruption and improve asset recovery, the value of confiscated assets remains low. Switzerland will assist Moldovan anti-corruption institutions to enhance their capability to recover and manage stolen assets, ensuring effective application of the legislation.

Country/region	Topic	Period	Budget
Moldova	Governance Anti-corruption organisations Legal and judicial development Domestic revenue mobilisation	01.10.2024 - 14.06.2029	CHF 2’080’000

The project in brief

Background	The recovery of stolen assets is a key element of a functioning rule of law system. It strengthens accountability and meets the demand of the population that those who enriched themselves illicitly cannot get away with it. It also contributes to prevent corruption. In addition, the recovery of stolen assets can be an important boost to countries’ efforts to mobilise resources to finance development. Through this project, Switzerland will support Moldova in its adherence path towards core democratic values and standards, including the rule of law. Switzerland has a long experience in promoting democracy and supporting democratic institutions and processes. Moreover, the promotion of democracy is a constitutional and legal mandate of the Swiss foreign policy and serves Swiss interests worldwide. By supporting this project, Switzerland demonstrates commitment to help Moldova in recovering presumably stolen assets, which have been identified in different jurisdictions, including Switzerland. Engaging with the Swiss-based International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR), which is part of the Basel Institute on Governance, adds to the “Swissness” of the project. ICAR is a world-famous and leading institute in the realm of asset recovery, standing out for its high-quality technical assistance.
Objectives	Moldova demonstrates improved results in the fight against corruption and organised crime, and mobilises recovered assets and proceeds of crime as resources for development.
Target groups	Anti-corruption practitioners, justice and law enforcement officials. Final beneficiaries: Moldovan society as a whole, benefitting from the changes brought by the improved confiscation and asset recovery practices.
Medium-term outcomes	Outcome 1: Criminal Asset Recovery Agency and Prosecutor General’s Office are better equipped to fight corruption and recover stolen assets.
Results	Expected results: Staff in the Criminal Asset Recovery Agency and in the Prosecutor General`s Office have improved competencies and skills to recover stolen assets. Government of Moldova partners introduce suitable tools, procedures, or instruments to facilitate asset recovery processes. National Institute of Justice is equipped with new training tools necessary for training law enforcement professionals on asset recovery and confiscation. Results from previous phases: During the inception phase (01.10.2024-31.05.2025) one Senior Specialist from ICAR was deployed to Moldova on a full time basis to strengthen the mutual legal assistance capability of the Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office and the Prosecutor General’s Office. Opportunities to further support those institutions to recover stolen assets were jointly identified. These include: asset recovery through case-based support; inter-agency cooperation; implementation of new pieces of legislation; and collaboration with the National Institute of Justice on providing state-of-the-art training in asset recovery and confiscation.
Directorate/federal office responsible	SDC
Project partners	Contract partner Foreign state institution Swiss Academic and Research Institution Central State of South East Other Swiss academic and research institutions
Coordination with other projects and actors	Policy dialogue and coordination with the governmental and other relevant stakeholders will be at the core of the project. This will include continued participation in existing donor coordination platforms to facilitate ongoing exchange with development partners throughout the project phase. Synergies between Swiss-funded and other anti-corruption projects (funded by European Union, World Bank, Germany, United Kingdom) will be boosted to make the most of the existing experiences.
Budget	Current phase Swiss budget CHF 2’080’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF 426’871 Total project since first phase Swiss budget CHF 200’000 Budget inclusive project partner CHF 5’500’000
Project phases	Phase 1 01.10.2024 - 14.06.2029 (Current phase)

Further technical details

Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation	GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation	Anti-corruption organisations and institutions Legal and judicial development Domestic revenue mobilisation
Cross-cutting topics	The project also supports partner organisation improvements
Aid Type	Mandate without fiduciary fund
Project number	7F11313