Zambia’s multi-agency approach to fighting corruption has gained further momentum as our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) training team conducted another successful workshop on financial investigations and asset recovery in Lusaka. This was the fourth in a series of five workshops under our train-the-trainer (TTT) programme for Zambia.
This article is adapted from the 2024 Basel AML Index public report.
“Foreign bribery continues to inflict enormous damage throughout the world. Holding culpable companies to account is an excellent start. But a complete picture of justice will only take shape once all the harm caused by these companies is adequately considered.”
Andrew Dornbierer puts his finger on the button in his foreword to our latest Working Paper: Compensating the victims of foreign bribery: UK legislation, practice and recommended reforms, by Sam Hickey.
The UK is a global leader in its efforts to target foreign bribery. It is one of the only countries worldwide to use negotiated settlements such as deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) to resolve cases and extract penalties from corporations that commit corruption abroad. The UK has also laudably committed to using the proceeds of DPAs in foreign bribery cases to compensate the victims of corruption, particularly in countries that suffer its worst effects.
La Directive de l’Union européenne de 2024 relative au recouvrement et à la confiscation d'avoirs oblige les États membres, entre autres, à adopter des mesures législatives pour permettre la confiscation de la « fortune inexpliquée ».
This article by Iker Lekuona explains the importance of asset recovery for crime prevention and highlights three vital aspects of international cooperation in corruption and asset recovery cases: informal cooperation mechanisms, trust and technical assistance.
Interpol has recently published its first Silver Notice to identify and trace assets owned by a senior member of the mafia at the request of Italian authorities.
The creation of such Silver Notices is a positive step that has the potential to reinforce one of the weakest aspects of the asset recovery process: the detection of illicit financial flows.
Publication
Policy Brief 14: Targeting unexplained wealth: Implications of the EU’s 2024 Directive on asset recovery
The European Union’s 2024 Directive on Asset Recovery and Confiscation obliges Member States to, among other things, introduce legislative measures to enable the confiscation of “unexplained wealth”.
This policy paper examines Article 16, which contains this obligation, and the powers and restrictions that Member States will need to include in such “unexplained wealth” measures to ensure compliance with the Directive.