Getting your phone, car, money or passport back in Italy

What seizure does to ordinary life

A seized phone is more than a device. It is the banking app, the boarding passes, the contacts of a business, the photographs of children, the verification codes that open every other account. A person without it cannot receive a code, cannot show a ticket and cannot reach a client. Within hours they discover how much of their life ran through the device that the police now hold in a plastic bag.

A seized car stops commuting, deliveries and school runs. A seized passport stops travel and, for foreigners, can stop a return home, with a flight booked and a job waiting abroad. Seized cash can be rent, wages for a small business, or the money for a medical bill. A blocked bank account stops standing orders, and the consequences compound: a missed rent payment, a bounced direct debit, a refused insurance renewal. Business owners find that suppliers stop delivering and customers stop paying while the funds are blocked.

The effect is sharper for people who live abroad. A foreign visitor whose phone is taken may have no other way to contact family or the employer, and may be unable to prove their identity or their address when they need to rent a replacement. A worker whose laptop is seized cannot work. A freelancer cannot meet a deadline. A company that lent a laptop or a vehicle to an employee sees its own property held for the case of someone else. All of this happens before any court has decided that anything was wrong, and it can last as long as the investigation does unless somebody asks for it to end.

Who ends up searching for this

The usual reader has just had a phone, a laptop, a car or a sum of money taken during a stop, a search or an arrest. They hold a record of seizure that lists the items and have no idea what to do with it. Some do not even know which kind of seizure it is, which matters, because the way back differs for each kind.

Another reader is a family member. A parent discovers that the son's phone has been taken and that photographs of the family, medical records and the only copy of a document are on it. A spouse learns that the joint account has been blocked and that wages cannot be paid. These readers want to know whether they can act on behalf of the person, and whether the family's own property can be affected.

A further kind of reader is a business owner or a landlord. The vehicle was rented out and is now seized, or the premises were let to a person who is under investigation. They are not suspected of anything, but their property is held, and they want it back. Their position as an owner not involved in the offence is different from that of the suspect, and the route they follow is often different too.

Papers to prepare before any application is made

• The record of seizure: photograph every page, check the date and time, and the list of items. The deadline to challenge runs from the execution of the seizure, and the record proves when that was.
• The order of the authority that decided the seizure, if you have been given it. It states the reasons and the purpose, and the purpose decides the route.
• Proof of ownership: registration papers for a car, invoice or box for a phone, bank statements for money, a lease for premises. If the property is not yours, proof of the lawful arrangement under which you hold it.
• Proof of need: why the item is needed for work, health or family, with letters from employers, doctors or schools. Courts weigh need against the interest of the investigation.
• The source of cash and funds: payslips, tax returns, sale contracts, loan documents. Unexplained money is treated as suspicious, and clear documents often make the difference.
• A list of what is on the device: apps, accounts, business data, medical or confidential information. It helps the lawyer to ask that a copy be made and the device returned.
• Passwords and backups: do not hand them over informally. Ask the lawyer how to deal with requests for access.
• The names of the officers and the office that carried out the seizure, so that applications go to the right place.

The choices that cannot wait

Several choices arise within days, and the deadline for the earliest is short and rarely explained.

Whether to challenge the seizure before a court within the time the law allows. The deadline is short and starts when the seizure is carried out, not when the family finds out. A challenge costs lawyer's time and requires reasons. If the deadline passes, the seizure cannot be reviewed in that way, and the person must rely on requests for return, which are slower and depend on the discretion of the authority holding the item.

Whether to ask for return or to wait. A request for return can be made at any time when the item is no longer needed. When a forensic copy of a phone or computer has been made, the original is often no longer needed, and a request can be made. The price of asking early is that it may draw attention to the item and prompt a closer look. The price of waiting is losing the use of it for months.

Whether to cooperate on access to a device. Giving the code may speed up a copy and the return of the device; it also opens the whole content to examination, including material that has nothing to do with the case. Limiting access through the lawyer protects privacy and may add delay.

What not to do when something has been taken

• Do not let the deadline pass while waiting for news. The officers will not remind you, and the family may learn of the seizure late.
• Do not buy a replacement phone and restore the same accounts without advice. If the old device is still linked, some actions may appear to be tampering.
• Do not remotely wipe or lock the seized device. It can be read as destruction of evidence, even if your reason was privacy.
• Do not pass the passcode to a friend or a colleague. Someone else entering the account may alter data.
• Do not move money out of other accounts to avoid a block. Transfers after a seizure are scrutinised as attempts to hide assets.
• Do not complain on social media. Posts can be used to show attitude, and the details may reveal what you wish to keep private.
• Do not drive a car if the registration papers have been taken. You may be fined or detained at a checkpoint.
• Do not assume that returned items are intact. Check them, photograph them and note anything missing before signing for them.
• Do not hand over items "voluntarily" without a written record. An informal handover can later be described as a seizure with no deadline attached, or as a gift you cannot reclaim.
• Do not leave the scene without a copy of the record of seizure. Without it you cannot show when the deadline began or which items were taken.

Questions for the lawyer on a seizure

• Which kind of seizure is this: for evidence, to prevent the offence continuing, or with a view to confiscation?
• When did the deadline to challenge start, and when does it end?
• Who is the right applicant: me, the owner, the company, or the person who held the item?
• Has a forensic copy been made, and if so, why does the authority still need the original?
• What can I ask for if I need the item back for work or health?
• Will access to my phone cover everything on it, or can the search be limited to what relates to the case?
• If funds are blocked, can an allowance be released for rent, wages or medical needs?
• If the item is a passport, can I get permission to travel in specific circumstances?
• What happens to the item if the case is closed, and who tells me?
• If the item belongs to someone who is not under investigation, who must apply and with what proof?
• Can I get a copy of the data I need for work while the original is kept?

The right questions depend on the type of seizure. A lawyer who does not ask which type it is has not read the paper. Ask also what the lawyer will file, and by when, so that the deadline has a name next to it.

When the item, the owner and the court are not in the same place

Seizures involving foreigners create difficulties that residents never face. The owner may be on a flight home when the deadline is running. The papers are in Italian, the lawyer needs a power of attorney, and the person who must sign it is in a different time zone. The immediate practical step is to arrange for the person to be represented, with an authority that has been signed and certified in a way the Italian court accepts. Ask the lawyer which form is needed before signing anything.

Proof of ownership also crosses borders. Registration papers for a foreign car, bank statements from an overseas institution and a foreign invoice for a phone all need translation, and sometimes certification, before an Italian office will rely on them. A translation prepared in a hurry can introduce errors in names and numbers, which then cause questions about whose property it is. Allow time for this, and keep the originals safe.

When funds are held in a foreign account, or the seized item was owned by a foreign company, it may be necessary to coordinate with a lawyer abroad about the consequences at home. A passport held by Italian authorities can also be a problem for a person trying to travel home: the consulate of their country may issue an emergency travel document, which allows departure but does not solve the Italian question, and a person who leaves without telling the lawyer may lose the chance to be heard. Calls should be arranged to suit the person's time zone, and documents should be sent by email in a form that can be forwarded without editing.

Words you will see on the record of seizure

• Sequestro probatorio: seizure for evidence. The item is held because it proves the offence, and it should be returned when that need is exhausted.
• Sequestro preventivo: seizure to stop the offence continuing or getting worse. It can be reviewed by a court within a short time.
• Confisca: confiscation, the permanent loss of an item on conviction. A seizure aimed at confiscation is tied to the outcome of the case.
• Riesame: the review of a seizure by a court. The deadline to ask for it is short and runs from execution.
• Restituzione: return of the seized item, which can be requested when it is no longer needed.
• Copia forense: a forensic copy of a device, an exact image of its contents made by experts. After it exists, holding the original is often open to challenge.
• Verbale di sequestro: the record of seizure, listing the items taken, the date and the officers. Keep it safe.
• Decreto: the written order of the authority that decided on the seizure, stating the reasons.
• Dissequestro: the lifting of a seizure, after which the item is returned to the person entitled to it.
• Corpo del reato: the thing connected to the offence, such as a device used or an object produced by it, which is the usual target of evidential seizure.
• Cancelleria: the court registry, where applications are filed, deadlines are recorded and returned items are often collected.

How the studio works on seizure and return

We begin with the record of seizure, because it tells us the type, the date and the items. If you send a photograph, we can usually say within the same day which deadline is running and what the route is. The engagement is confirmed in writing with an estimate of cost in phases, because a challenge and a request for return are separate pieces of work.

The opening call is used to ask what the item is needed for and who owns it. We then explain the options, and what the authority is likely to say in reply. Documents can be sent as photographs or scans by email, and nobody has to come to an office to begin. The studio works in English and Italian, and where a client prefers another language, we arrange an interpreter for the main conversations.

Offices in Rome, Milan and Naples allow a lawyer to file at the court that ordered the seizure and to attend if a hearing is set. For a client abroad, we coordinate the power of attorney and the translation of ownership papers, and, when funds or property are in another country, we work with a lawyer there. We are reachable outside office hours when a deadline is about to expire. We cannot promise that an item will be released, because the decision belongs to the court and the prosecutor. The email address is avvmassimoromano@gmail.com.