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MONACO LAW REVIEW | DECEMBER 2025 | SPECIAL REPORT
By contrast, the criminal investigation is governed by the
Code of Criminal Procedure and falls within the authority
of the judiciary. Its purpose is to record offences, identify
perpetrators and gather evidence. Criminal investigation
offi cers act under the authority of the Public Prosecutor or
the Investigating Judge. The investigation therefore adopts
an enforcement-based approach: it intervenes after the
commission or suspicion of an offence.
Although these two functions pursue different objectives,
their complementarity is indispensable to coherent public
action in combating criminality and terrorism.
An Increasingly Essential Form
of Cooperation
Faced with the rise of complex threats and the development
of transnational criminality, it has become essential to ensure
structured communication between those services that gather
or hold intelligence and those responsible for conducting
investigations.
Intelligence supports investigations by providing the fi rst
indicators of unlawful activity or suspicious behaviour and
may enable the opening of a criminal investigation.
Conversely, criminal investigations enrich the intelligence
picture: investigative work provides precise information
on modus operandi, international connections and criminal
profi les. Once analysed, these elements feed criminal
intelligence databases and reinforce prevention capabilities.
To facilitate this synergy, several coordination structures have
been established - technical, institutional and operational -
including the Contact Group and the Operational Intelligence
Exchange Unit on Money Laundering (CEROB).
These bodies bring together investigators and services
involved in AML/CFT that hold relevant information,
enabling them to share it without compromising ongoing
judicial proceedings.
In recent years, there has been a marked improvement in
cooperation between the various public administrations,
as well as with the private sector. The Monaco Police
Department has in particular sought to strengthen its ties
with private actors in the Principality, for example with the
Monaco Institute of Chartered Accountants.
A Structured and Balanced Interface
While this cooperation is essential, it takes place within a legal
framework that must be respected. Intelligence falls within
administrative law, whereas criminal investigations are
governed by strict procedural rules designed to safeguard the
rights of the defence. Therefore, any piece of intelligence may
only be used in judicial proceedings if it has been confi rmed
by lawful investigative acts. This transition from intelligence
to admissible evidence is particularly sensitive.
The challenge is to strike a fair balance between operational
effectiveness and the protection of civil liberties.
In recent years, legislative amendments have been introduced
to facilitate cooperation and improve investigators’ access to
certain forms of information, including the creation of
registers to which the Monaco Police Department has direct
access (register of civil companies, trust register, benefi cial
ownership register, bank account register, associations
register).
In short, intelligence and criminal investigation are not two
opposing domains but rather two facets of the same mission.
One seeks to anticipate; the other to establish and sanction.
Their articulation relies on regulated cooperation, mutual
trust and a controlled fl ow of information. In a context of
globalised and evolving threats, extending well beyond
AML/CFT, this complementarity has become essential to
effective policing and the protection of society.
THE CRIMINAL ASSET IDENTIFICATION
UNIT
Created in January 2025, the Criminal Asset Identifi cation Unit
was established both to meet an operational need and to comply
with the recommendations addressed to the Principality as part of
FATF follow-up, as well as to ensure alignment with international
treaties. Its purpose is to reinforce and improve the tools available to
combat money laundering, terrorist fi nancing and the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction.
Its primary mission is to carry out asset investigations: detecting,
identifying and tracing assets derived from unlawful activity,
including bank accounts, real estate, movable property and other
fi nancial resources, with a view to their seizure and confi scation.
The Unit is also responsible for ensuring smooth coordination
between the Monaco Police Department, the Offi ce for the
Management of Seized and Confi scated Assets, the Monaco
Financial Security Authority, the Business Development Agency,
the Department of Tax Services, the Monaco Association of
Financial Activities, and international cooperation networks
specialising in asset identifi cation and anti-money laundering, such
as the channels operated by Europol CARIN and AMON, as well
as the processing of SILVER Notices issued by INTERPOL.
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