July 4 (Cointime) - The Council of the European Union has approved a proposal to update its policies on wealth confiscation, with a focus on freezing and confiscating "unexplained assets".

The new directive aims to establish minimum rules for tracing, identifying, freezing, confiscating, and managing property in criminal proceedings, and to strengthen the ability of competent authorities to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their activities.

The directive includes a broad definition of property, which covers all forms of assets, including cryptocurrencies. Owners of "unexplained assets" will have to prove that their property's value is not "substantially disproportionate" to their lawful income or that there is no illicit source of the property.