Breaking News: Parliament approves asset recovery bill with retroactive seizures up to ten years

Addis Abeba – The House of Peoples’ Representatives today approved the asset recovery bill.

Initially presented to lawmakers in June 2024, it was sent to Legal and Justice Standing Committee for further scrutiny.

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The proclamation, endorsed on 09 January, 2025, seeks to empower the government to seize assets acquired through undeclared income.

“The primary objective of this law is to establish comprehensive legal frameworks for asset recovery pertaining to all crimes that generate proceeds,” stated the proclamation.

The new legislation, which targets both tangible and intangible assets with retroactive seizure provisions, encompasses a broad spectrum of assets, including bank credits, stocks, bonds, and other economically beneficial holdings.

Under this law, assets acquired through undisclosed channels are subject to both criminal and anti-corruption legal frameworks.

The proclamation stipulates that “Asset recovery claims on unexplained assets may be brought to the court” for assets obtained within the preceding ten years, provided the value of the unexplained assets exceeds 10 million birr.

Furthermore, the law authorizes the government to issue a freezing order on assets for a period of three working days without prior court approval, if there is reasonable belief that the assets may be dissipated or their economic value may diminish.