Quick Guide 5: Illicit enrichment

This quick guide offers a short introduction to illicit enrichment laws, which are emerging as a powerful tool to combat corruption and recover stolen assets. Originally published in May 2019, it was updated in June 2021 following the Basel Institute’s publication of an open-access book on Illicit Enrichment: a Guide to Laws Targeting Unexplained Wealth.

In this quick guide the book’s author Andrew Dornbierer, Asset Recovery Specialist, explains what “illicit enrichment” or “unexplained wealth” mean – and how they can open the door to recovering stolen assets. He covers:

• What is illicit enrichment in a nutshell?
• Why are illicit enrichment laws useful in anti-corruption efforts?
• Is it a crime?
• Why is there some controversy?
• How is illicit enrichment investigated and prosecuted?
• Are there any recent case studies?

About this Quick Guide

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. It is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Quick Guide series, ISSN 2673-5229.