Across Europe, asset and interest disclosure (AID) systems continue to face structural and technical weaknesses that limit effective enforcement. In Romania, the National Integrity Agency processes vast numbers of declarations with limited verification capacity. In Italy, decentralised and non-standardised formats prevent central analysis. In Bulgaria, Croatia and North Macedonia, digitalisation is progressing but fragmented databases and restricted access to banking data hinder risk-based checks. Legal gaps concerning crypto-assets, assets held abroad, and property registered under relatives further enable concealment schemes.
At the qAID final conference hosted on 19-20 February 2026 by the University of Trento, together with the Center for the Study of Democracy, the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative, and the National Anti-Corruption Authority (Italy), experts stressed the need to move from formal declaration gathering to effective oversight through databases’ interoperability, AI-supported risk detection, and cross-border data exchange.
Why It Matters
Weak AID systems allow politically exposed persons to conceal illicit wealth and conflicts of interests, undermining public trust and democratic resilience. As EU Member States and candidate countries face growing rule-of-law scrutiny, modernised, risk-based and interoperable disclosure systems are essential to deter illicit enrichment and strengthen institutional integrity.
Key Insights from the Discussion
• With the proposed EU Directive on combating corruption set to criminalize illicit enrichment EU-wide, both EU member states and candidate countries face a critical need for harmonized definitions, data formats, and risk detection.
• Experiences showed progress and gaps: advanced automated risk detection, lifestyle checks and crypto-asset analysis exist in some countries, including tools utilised by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention of Ukraine, while others still face fragmented data and limited verification capacity.
• AID systems should link disclosures to real decisions (appointments, procurement, investments) and improve access to ultimate beneficial ownership, banking, and cross-border data usable in court.
Selected Speakers’Perspectives
Giuseppe Busìa, President of the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), Italy explained that modern anti-corruption efforts require sophisticated digital tools based on database interoperability and risk indicators to strengthen, rather than replace, human judgment. He highlighted that ANAC had signed several MoUs with international networks to ensure a coordinated global response.
Prof. Andrea Di Nicola, Director of the Centre of Security and Crime Sciences at the University of Trento and University of Verona, characterized AID systems as "situational crime prevention" measures that change the legal environment by increasing the effort and risk of committing a crime while decreasing its benefits. He stressed the need to move away from "isolated islands" of data, ensuring that systems were embedded in larger data networks.
Adem Cuculj, Director of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption in North Macedonia explained that with the support of EU funding, the country’s anti‑corruption system will be fully interconnected and digitalized by 2028. He noted that this transition is designed to enable the automatic detection of unexplained asset increases and conflicts of interest, thereby facilitating more timely and effective sanctions. Cuculj also acknowledged significant challenges, pointing to the incompatibility of fragmented databases such as the cadastre and emphasizing the need for legal amendments to clarify household definitions and regulate the admissibility of international evidence in court proceedings.
Daniela Mineva, Senior Analyst at CSD, presented the AID Assessment Toolkit, designed to help authorities evaluate and refine disclosure systems. She advocated for combining database cross-checks in public registers with Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) to detect luxury lifestyles, aligning national legal base with EU’ criminalization of illicit enrichment initiative, and focusing on modern risks like cryptocurrency. Finally, she emphasized that true AID effectiveness can be achieved only with the support of active civil society and investigative journalism whose watchdog functions remain free from the threats, spyware and SLAPP lawsuits.
Danylo Zuienko, Head of 5th Unit of Directorate for Full Audits at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention of Ukraine detailed how the country successfully transitioned from a paper-based system in 2016 to a fully automated and digitalized infrastructure that monitors conflicts of interest, lobbying, lifestyles, and political corruption. He described the use of logical and arithmetic control models that assign risk scores to declarations, triggering manual in-depth verifications when specific thresholds is reached. Furthermore, he highlighted that agencies now utilize geolocation and telecommunication data to verify the identity and standard of living of PEPs household members.
Policy Implications and Next Steps
EU and national policy-makers should harmonise the legal base and data formats, enable secure cross-border data sharing, and invest in interoperable digital AID systems combining AI, OSINT, and human analysis. At the same time, protecting sensitive data (e.g., military/foreign service officials) and supporting independent civil society and investigative journalism will be critical for effective and trusted enforcement.
