How investigative journalists and civil society organisations expose risks, support law enforcement action and strengthen accountability in the use of virtual assets

Case studies of how international organisations and networks support national and global efforts to counter illicit use of virtual assets

The rapid growth of virtual assets has created new challenges for law enforcement agencies and public authorities tasked with preventing and investigating financial crime. While governments remain at the forefront of regulatory and enforcement responses, international organisations and professional networks play an increasingly important role in strengthening national capacities and fostering cross-border cooperation.

This 1.5-hour roundtable will examine the Odebrecht case from the perspective of practitioners of a) countries that have prosecuted the company for bribing foreign public officials (recipient states); and b) countries whose public agents were bribed (victim states).

These perspectives are supplemented by the global vision of the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) and other specialised civil society organisations that have been providing technical assistance to several Latin American countries in this emblematic case for almost a decade.

This panel explores the balance between human rights and international obligations on asset recovery, touching upon due process and property rights, and drawing lessons from the StAR publication Human Rights in Asset Recovery Processes: Lessons from the European Court of Human Rights.