The first ever Afghan Asset Recovery Regulation was passed by the Afghan Cabinet. It is the first step towards the creation of an effective asset recovery framework in the country. In terms of Non-Conviction Based Confiscation (NCBC), the law dedicates only article 13 and 14, which state that:

Asset Confiscation Warrant without Criminal Conviction

Article 13: The court may issue order on confiscation of asset without criminal conviction based on the request of prosecution office and provided documentations. Restrictive Measures on Asset

Article 14: The court may issue a ruling on the following restrictive measures prior to asset confiscation without criminal conviction:

No benefiting from and possessing of the asset or leasing and mortgaging it without court approval;

No benefiting from movable properties in commercial shares and companies;

No selling, transferring, destroying, changing, giving and moving of asset. While the above is a good step forward, NCBC is still quite limited in the country, and there are no talks of other methods, such as unexplained wealth orders.

Updated: October 31, 2020

One of the biggest weaknesses of the asset recovery legal framework in Afghanistan is asset redistribution. While the government has powers to confiscate, seize, freeze assets, including through non-conviction-based confiscation in certain circumstances, it still fails to redistribute the assets effectively. In the draft asset recovery regulation, Integrity Watch Afghanistan is advising the government to tackle this gap, and there are talks to redistribute stolen assets to victims, as well as reinvest them in the administration and human resources of the country. At the moment, the regulation is composed of 26 articles and has been approved by the Afghan cabinet.

Updated: April 30, 2020

The Attorney General Office has prepared a draft asset recovery regulation that Integrity Watch has suggested improvements to. This regulation has been reviewed by two law making meetings at the Ministry of Justice to incorporate comments and observations from stakeholders that included AGO, Supreme Court, Ministries of Justice and Finance and Integrity Watch Afghanistan. It is currently scheduled to be shared with the cabinet for approval.

Updated: October 30, 2019

Attorney General Office has prepared a draft asset recovery regulation and has been shared with Integrity Watch for comments.

Updated: May 30, 2019

The above mentioned draft asset recovery regulation has not been shared online, but the 'Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Quarterly Report 2019' also outlines that the government is developing asset forfeiture tools - pg.114.

Peer reviewer: 1

Updated: May 30, 2019

No progress since 2017

Updated: June 30, 2018

May 2019 Update: Attorney General Office has prepared a draft asset recovery regulation and has been shared with Integrity Watch for comments.

May 2019 Update Peer Reviewer Additional Notes: The above mentioned draft asset recovery regulation has not been shared online, but the 'Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Quarterly Report 2019' also outlines that the government is developing asset forfeiture tools - pg.114.

No progress since 2017. "There is no significant progress here."