The bill being discussed in Costa Rica basically seeks to extinguish the assets of organized crime, but there are those who claim that as proposed, it puts at risk the presumption of innocence of individuals.
The extinction of domain is a concept that in practice refers to seizing or confiscating assets linked to criminal activities, and then transferring them in favor of the State.
A draft bill proposes that the state seize goods from money laundering and other illicit activities.
"The suggestion has been raised to create a law that relates to forfeitures, because there is so much income and assets being generated, but we do not know what to do with those assets" said Ana Belfon, from the Attorney General's Office.
Prosecutors in the interior would rather not know about high-impact cases, and there are judges who do not want to rule on them for fear of reprisals.
Added to this are other problems being faced by prosecutors of the Public Ministry (PM) within the country such as lack of security, space and backlogs.
The standard allows the state to seize assets related to illicit operations based on tax fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking or organized crime.
Salvadoran Congress also agreed to add the crimes of fraud along with those of public finances and corruption to the Special Law on Forfeiture and Management of Property of Illicit Origin or Destination.
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