Economic analysis of the removal of illegal gains

The purpose of the present paper is to explore both the motivation for conf iscating illegal gain and also to look at some of its legal aspects and eco nomic effects. It is argued that the removal of illegal gain may be able to play a significant complementary role, if only by closing the gap between the maximum punishment the law will allow and fines sufficient to represent a credible deterrent. The paper develops a deterrence model and applies it to confiscation powers introduced to help combat drug trafficking. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.