Cryptocurrency regulations are developing fast. Across the world, authorities are reacting to the emerging threat posed by criminals using new payment methods to conceal and launder the proceeds of their crimes.

However, as the application of anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) due diligence requirements becomes stricter and more entities implement preventative measures, criminals are constantly looking elsewhere for potential havens for their illicit activities.

Asset recovery refers to the process by which the proceeds of crime are identified, traced, seized, confiscated and returned to their rightful owners. Generally speaking, States need to lead the process of recovering stolen assets. 

However, civil society organisations (CSOs) can play an important role in the different stages of the asset recovery process. 

This guide:

These practical guidelines are a set of international good practices intended to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of requesting and requested states in the asset recovery process.

Asset recovery is an intricate and time-consuming process. The guidelines unravel the asset recovery process, breaking it down into practical, manageable guidelines, allowing a targeted audience to focus on the asset recovery process in a comprehensive manner.

States perceived to be highly corrupt are at the same time those with a poor human rights record. International institutions have therefore assumed a negative feedback loop between both social harms. They deplore that corruption undermines the enjoyment of human rights and, concomitantly, employ human rights as a normative framework to denounce and combat corruption. But the human rights-based approach has been criticized as vague and over-reaching.

This briefing paper from the World Economic Forum Meta-Council on the Illicit Economy is a call to action for private and public sectors to pay attention to the growing impact of illicit economy.

The Meta-Council sheds light into some areas of the illicit economy – human trafficking, counterfeit goods, illegal mining and metals and illicit financial flows – and highlights key recommendations and solutions to be taken to combat the impact of these illicit activities.

This report is a first-time overarching assessment of availability and suitability of International Financial Institute (IFI) Risk Mitigation instruments and has been compiled through a detailed questionnaire based feedback from more than 40 infrastructure investors with total assets under management exceeding USD 2 trillion, project developers and construction companies, global banking institutions, insurance and reinsurance companies, multilateral development banks and professional services firms.

RESIST (Resisting Extortion and Solicitation in International Transactions) is designed as a training tool to provide practical guidance for company employees on how to prevent and/or respond to an inappropriate demand by a client, business partner or public authority in the most efficient and ethical way, recognizing that such a demand may be accompanied by a threat.

RESIST is intended primarily as a training tool to raise employee awareness on the risk of solicitation, including through frank discussion, and to propose practical ethical responses to dilemmas.