A Brief History of Asset Forfeiture

Asset forfeiture has a long history that can be traced back as far as the Old Testament, and Greek and Roman law.

In the 1970s and the 1980s, government agencies began to employ asset forfeiture to target criminal organizations, including drug trafficking organizations. Asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to target not only the individuals who controlled these organizations, but also the money that facilitated their crimes.

Forfeiture was an extremely effective tool in combating drug trafficking and organized crime, and in the years since, forfeiture has been used to fight other criminal offenses, especially those involving fraud and other white collar crime.

The Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture Program

The Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program (DOJ AFP) was established by the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. This legislation gave federal prosecutors new forfeiture provisions to combat crime and created the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund.

The Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund was established to receive the proceeds of forfeiture and to pay the costs associated with such forfeitures, including the costs of managing and disposing of property, satisfying valid liens, mortgages, and other innocent owner claims, and costs associated with achieving the legal forfeiture of the property.