Webinar: Corruption sanctions – reaching those beyond the law

Webinar recording

Corruption sanctions – asset freezes, travel bans and related measures targeting individuals suspected of serious corruption – have emerged as one of the most flexible tools in the anti-corruption arsenal.

Unlike conventional law enforcement, they require no criminal conviction and no geographical connection between the sanctioning state and the alleged wrongdoing. This allows them to reach individuals who would otherwise enjoy complete impunity within their own legal systems.

Yet they remain underused and unevenly applied. Only a handful of states have introduced them, and questions around due process, judicial oversight and the risk of politicisation pose real challenges to their credibility.

About the event

This webinar marked the launch of a new paper by Anton Moiseienko, published by the Basel Institute on Governance through its International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR).

The paper traces the evolution of corruption sanctions from their origins to the present day, assesses their advantages and limitations, and sets out concrete recommendations for how they can be better designed and more consistently applied.

Key themes included:

• Why corruption sanctions emerged as a response to situations where domestic justice systems are unwilling or unable to hold powerful individuals accountable
• Whether sanctions genuinely deter corruption, disrupt illicit activity and support victims, or whether their impact is often more symbolic than practical
• The global legacy of the Magnitsky movement and the challenges of expanding and harmonising sanctions regimes across different jurisdictions
• The growing tension between sanctions as tools of accountability and sanctions as instruments of foreign policy
• Concerns about politicisation, due process and the risks that inconsistent or selective use could undermine the credibility of sanctions regimes
• The realities of asset tracing, asset recovery and compensation for victims, and whether sanctions can achieve meaningful outcomes without broader enforcement strategies
• The role of lawyers, financial professionals and other enablers in facilitating corruption and whether sanctions should increasingly target those networks
• How governments can make sanctions more transparent, strategic and effective while maintaining public confidence in their legitimacy

Speakers

• Dr Anton Moiseienko, Associate Professor of Law, ANU Law School and author of new Working Paper on corruption sanctions
• Sir William Browder KCMG, CEO and Founder of Hermitage Capital Management, Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, President of the Magnitsky Justice Foundation and Author of *Red Notice* and *Freezing Order*
• Michael O’Kane, Senior Partner, Peters & Peters
• Lyra Nightingale, Senior Legal Advisor, REDRESS
• Andrew Dornbierer, Head of Policy and Research, ICAR, Basel Institute on Governance (moderator)