Presentation

The direction

The director of Agrasc, under the authority of the supervising minstries (Ministry of Justice and Ministry Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty), contributes to defining the agency’s strategic objectives. They lead all activities and coordinate the necessary resources to achieve the objectives assigned to them. They set the strategy for human, financial, and material resources. The director oversees and evaluates the implementation of actions, ensuring the representation and development of the agency.

Agrasc is equipped with various services to adapt to the diversity of its responsibilities :

The General Secretariat

Under the authority of a Secretary general appointed by decree of the Minister of Budget, the General Secretariat coordinates the preparation, presentation, and execution of the agency’s budget. It is responsible for public procurement and manages the general administration of services, particularly human resources (HR policy, personnel management) and the working environment (premises, furniture, equipment, IT, etc.). It ensures the monitoring and compliance with administrative and legal obligations and maintains constant oversight of regulations (tax, legal, social, and accounting). Additionally, the General Secretariat prepares the agency’s decision-making bodies.

The Accounting Agency

Operating independently, it manages the accounts that Agrasc holds with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and carries out financial transactions (payments to the state budget, restitution, compensation of civil parties, repayment of public and social creditors, etc.)

THE TRADES DEPARTMENTS

The Operational Sub-Directorate

The Operational Sub-Directorate is responsible for representing the agency in national and international bodies. It also aims to coordinate the work of the operational departments, strenghten, and develop training strategies on seizure and confiscation law for all actors in the criminal justice system. Futhermore, its goal is to professionalize and sandardize the assistance provided to courts and investigative services.

The Legal Department

The legal department is responsible of the following missions :
– Handling cases with international aspects.
– Managing digital assets.
– Overseeing assets restitution, which includes informing public creditors 
– Facilitating the compensation of civil parties

The Real Estate Department

The real estate department is responsible for the following missions :
– Publishing the seizure, release of seizure, and criminal confiscation of real estate with the land registry service and the land registry offices (for the departments of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, and Moselle) ;
– Monitoring the authorization procedures for the sale of seized property and the transfer of criminal seizure to the sale price (Articles 706-144 and 706-146 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) ;
– Managing permanently confiscated real estate and property seized under management orders ;
– Selling permanently confiscated real estate ;
– Allocating permanently confiscated real estate for social purposes ;
– Providing expertise to courts and investigators (police /gendarmerie /customs) in the seizure and confiscation of complex real estate assets ;
– Setting up and monitoring partnerships related to seized and confiscated real estate, particularly in the fight against substandard housing ;
– Overseeing and coordinating Agrasc’s network of real estate service providers : notaries, real estate agents, judicial officers, and technical service providers.

The Movable Assets Department

The movable assets department is responsible for the following missions :
– Managing tangible and intangible movable assets (excluding financial instruments and currency under the jurisdiction of the legal department, and business assets/SCI shares under the real estate department) ;
– Organizing sales (before* and after judgment) ;
– Allocating assets to investigative and judicial services ;
– Revitalizing seized property.

*Pre-judgment sales are conducted when the investigating judge or prosecutor entrusts Agrasc with seized movable assets that are likely to deprecite and are no longer needed for the discovery of the truth.

The Regional Offices

There are eight regional offices, located in Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Rennes, Nancy, Fort-de-France, Bordeaux and Paris, covering the jurisdiction of specialized interregional courts. They are responsible for registering, monitoring, and enforcing decisions regarding the seizure and confiscation of cash, bank accounts, financial instruments, and receivables within their geographic area. They provide assistance and training to investigators, judges, and clerks in their jurisdiction. Additionally, they participate in the allocation process of tangible movable assets to investigative and judicial services. In support of courts and invetigative services, they carry out local actions, particularly to improve the management of seized assets, and establish innovative partnerships with these entities.

The Agrasc is an administrative public institution under the joint supervision of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industrial Sovereignty. 

The president of its board of directors and its director general are judges from the judiciary, and its secretary general is appointed by order of the Minister of Budget. The agency’s staff consists of civil servants seconded or assigned from three ministries (Justice, Interior and Finance) as well as contractual employees.