Phyllis Atkinson has led the training team of our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) since 2010, having joined ICAR in 2009. The team’s work is essential to ICAR’s mission to support partner countries in developing their capabilities to investigate corruption and recover stolen assets.
The passing of a Whistleblower Protection Act in Bulgaria on 27 January 2023 was a major step forward for the country’s anti-corruption efforts. The law, which will take full effect on 17 December 2023, finally brings Bulgaria into line with the EU’s 2019 Whistleblowing Protection Directive. Now come the bigger steps: implementing it effectively and informing the public of both its provisions and its importance as an anti-corruption tool.
The art market is often described as ‘niche’. In reality, it is a significant trade industry: sales of art and antiques by dealers and auction houses reached an estimated USD 65.1 billion in 2021. And like many industries of this size, it attracts people seeking to abuse it to launder proceeds of crime or evade sanctions.
This quick guide briefly explains the unique characteristics of the art market that make it vulnerable to this type of abuse. It also outlines steps that jurisdictions can take to prevent and combat abuse of the sector for illicit purposes.
A Q&A with Mary Muthoni, who led a novel court monitoring project of our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) in Kenya during 2022. The aim was to identify reasons for delays in major corruption trials, as a basis for developing reforms to streamline and speed up the court process. The Court Users Committee has been highly receptive to the findings, which the team presented in March 2023.
Fifty-eight members of Ecuador’s criminal justice agencies have undergone intensive training on financial investigations and asset recovery over the last two weeks.
The Action Agenda published by the Summit for Democracy’s Cohort on Anti-Corruption Policies is a joint commitment between participating governments and civil society organisations for continued cooperation on anti-corruption.
Focus areas:
Publication
Recommendations of the International Cooperation for Anti-Corruption Cohort of the Summit for Democracy
These recommendations by the Summit for Democracy’s International Cooperation for Anti-Corruption Cohort outline how to build on progress in international cooperation made over the last 10–15 years. They seek particularly to overcome challenges related to:
International cooperation is vital to investigate corruption cases and recover stolen assets, and thus to end the impunity associated with high-level corruption. Few would dispute that, but achieving commitments made under international treaties such as the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) remains a work in progress.
New recommendations by the Summit for Democracy’s International Cooperation for Anti-Corruption Cohort outline how to build on progress in international cooperation made over the last 10–15 years. They seek particularly to overcome challenges related to:
An intensive training programme of our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) in Zambia has brought fresh impetus to the country’s fight against corruption.
The financial investigations and asset recovery training programme, held in collaboration with the Zambian Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), brought together participants from a wide range of law enforcement and oversight bodies.
This case study describes how Switzerland is putting to test a rarely used but powerful law in order to confiscate assets connected to Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity, with the aim of returning these to Ukraine.
Key points: