 On 28 February, 2011, the Center for the Study of Democracy hosted a meeting of representatives of non-governmental organizations working in the field of criminal law with Mr. G. Wingate Grant, Assistant US Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia, on the legislation and practical problems with asset forfeiture in Bulgaria and in the USA. Among the participants in the discussion were Mr. Dimitar Markov, Senior Analyst and Project Director at the CSD Law Program, Mr. Philip Gounev, Research Fellow at the CSD European Program, Ms. Ivanka Ivanova, Director of the Law Program of the Open Society Institute - Sofia, Mr. Yonko Grozev, Program Director of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, and the U.S. Embassy representatives Mr. William Solley, Political Officer, Mr. Todor Kolarov, Legal Advisor at the U.S. Department of Justice, and Ms. Radostina Mihalkova, Political – Economic Specialist.
 During the discussion Mr. Grant presented the U.S. law enforcement and justice system in relation to the asset forfeiture procedures, sharing his personal experience as an expert in this field. Presently, all the proceeds collected from confiscation of criminal assets in the USA go to a state forfeiture fund and can be used for specific purposes with the approval of the Attorney General. The US system of management of seized property and the asset tracking database software used were among the topics that provoked high interest at the meeting.
The representatives of the Bulgarian organizations presented briefly the Bulgarian system of asset forfeiture and their concerns about the problems, which stand before the asset forfeiture law, which is soon to be amended by the Bulgarian Parliament. The main issue of discussion was how the law should be revised to improve the effectiveness of the asset forfeiture in Bulgaria and to improve the cooperation between the relevant institutions.
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