Fight against financial crime: Lawyer Moussa Sarr wants a criminal justice system where "crime no longer pays"

Two major challenges are at the heart of the workshop that opened this Monday in Dakar: tracking criminal assets from the earliest stages of the investigation and preventing their depreciation after seizure. The fight against economic and financial crime is thus reaching a new milestone in Senegal. A capacity-building workshop for actors in the criminal justice system on the seizure, confiscation, and recovery of criminal assets opened this Monday, October 5, at the NOOM Hotel in Dakar. Chaired by the Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, Moussa Sarr, the four-day meeting brings together magistrates, investigators, financial administration officials, bankers, insurers, lawyers, and notaries. The stated objective is to strengthen the capacity of all these actors to identify, seize, manage, and recover assets derived from financial crime.

" Crime should not pay."

In his opening address, Mr. Moussa Sarr emphasized the dramatic consequences of economic and financial crime on public resources. He noted that embezzled funds or funds derived from criminal activities represent resources diverted from development funding, particularly for education and healthcare infrastructure. For the Minister of Justice, imprisonment of financial offenders cannot be the sole legal response. If the perpetrator retains the profits derived from their actions, the punishment loses much of its deterrent effect.

This is the very essence of the principle that "crime should not pay," which the Senegalese authorities intend to put into concrete action by strengthening the legal and institutional framework. Senegal notably has the National Office for the Recovery of Criminal Assets (ONRAC), established by Law No. 2021-34 of July 23, 2021. According to the Minister, this Office has already recovered more than 50 billion CFA francs. In addition, there is the Financial Judicial Pool, created by Law No. 2023-14 of August 2, 2023, and operational since September 2024. Mr. Moussa Sarr also highlighted the efforts made by Senegal to comply with international standards, which notably led to the country's removal, in October 2024, from the FATF's list of States under enhanced monitoring.

Tracking down heritage before it disappears

For the Minister of Justice, the effectiveness of the system now depends on the ability of the various links in the criminal justice chain to work in a coordinated manner. One of the main challenges is therefore to initiate asset investigations from the very first stages of the proceedings. As the mechanisms for concealing criminal assets have become more sophisticated, identifying beneficial owners requires specific skills and resources. Shell companies, life insurance policies, and crypto-assets are all potential channels that can be used to conceal or move assets.

The Minister of Justice also emphasized the need to involve the National Office for Veterans and Victims of War (ONRAC) early in the management of seized assets. The goal is to prevent vehicles, buildings, or any other assets immobilized during lengthy proceedings from deteriorating and losing value. This approach therefore requires a genuine chain of responsibility extending from the investigator to the magistrate, including the financial authorities and ONRAC.

Efficiency , without sacrificing the rule of law

However, strengthening the fight against criminal assets must not come at the expense of fundamental procedural safeguards. Mr. Moussa Sarr reiterated the importance of due process, respect for the presumption of innocence, reasoned judicial decisions, and the protection of bona fide third parties.

International cooperation is also a major issue in a context marked by the rapid flow of capital across borders. The minister therefore encouraged Senegalese stakeholders to make greater use of mutual legal assistance mechanisms and cooperation networks between practitioners, particularly CARIN and ARIN-WA.

Over four days, participants will compare their practices through concrete cases, legal drafting exercises, and a mock court hearing. Organized with the technical and financial support of the African Legal Support Facility, the workshop aims to produce recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the seizure, confiscation, and recovery of criminal assets in Senegal. The ambition is clear: to ensure that the criminal justice response is no longer limited to punishing the perpetrator of an offense, but also allows for the recovery of the profits derived from it.