Trillions of euros of corrupt funds are recycled through the global economy annually and less than 1% is being seized and frozen. The US has taken the lead in tackling this issue through the Global Magnitsky Act, banning visas and freezing the assets of corrupt individuals and human rights abusers. They were shortly followed by Canada, the United Kingdom and the three Baltic states, and there is growing consensus that the EU should adopt a similar legislation. Beyond sanctions, the EU also needs to do better at confiscating and returning assets in a responsible manner. Transparency International EU and CiFAR organized this conference to explore current EU developments on sanctions, including the prospect of the adoption of an EU-wide horizontal human rights sanctions regime and the upcoming review of the 2014 Directive on asset freezing and confiscation.