The firm also assists people liable to the application of personal and asset protection measures, along with their heirs and rightful claimants (when the asset protection proceedings must continue or began after the person liable is deceased), as well as third parties that own or jointly own attached assets (and have the right to take part in proceedings in order to make the appropriate deductions and have their goods returned).
The application of preventive measures (known also as ante delictum or praeter delictum, as they may be imposed regardless of whether a crime has been committed) has practical repercussions in personal terms and/or on assets. Although not comparable to penalties imposed after a judgment has been passed, they can strongly restrict personal freedom by imposing a series of restrictions in order to facilitate monitoring and control by the bodies responsible for public safety. In addition, among the measures taken to prevent crime, the ones aiming to freeze (attach) assets or to confiscate illicit gains are particularly significant.
Asset protection measures are aimed at people in one of the categories indicated in Legislative Decree 159/2011 who investigations have shown to own goods (including via intermediaries, whether individuals or entities) for which they cannot provide legitimate provenance and the value of which far exceeds their income. They may also apply to goods that are the result of illegal activities or have been bought with the proceeds of said activities. Alongside attachment and confiscation (applicable as a set-off pursuant to section 25), there are other measures applicable to assets: bail (as an impediment to the violation of restrictions applied to the individual) and court-appointed administration of assets (sections 33 and 34 of the aforementioned decree).
Personal measures can also have a significant impact. In addition to measures that can be applied by the chief of police (registration and oral warnings), the judiciary can apply the measure of special surveillance for reasons of public safety, which can include – where circumstances require it – prohibition on living in one or more municipalities outside that of residence or ordinary place of domicile or in one or more provinces, as well as prohibition on going to certain places, normally frequented by minors. In the event that the other preventive measures are not considered necessary for reasons of public safety, a person may be required to stay in their municipality of residence or ordinary place of domicile.
People who have been subject to definitive personal preventive measures by the judicial authorities are seriously affected in terms of their work, as they can no longer apply for licenses, permits or concessions, or lose their right to those they already have. Given the serious nature of the consequences of preventive measures, it is extremely important to appoint a defence counsel to oppose the request for their application, who can make the correct deductions and provide technical and advisory services.