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.
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:
This case study describes how authorities in Kenya and Jersey worked together to unlock progress in a long-running case involving around USD 3.7 million in corruptly acquired funds.
The money was held in the bank account of the shelf company Windward Trading, which was used to channel corrupt payments relating to power generation in Kenya.
A cross-agency training workshop in Mozambique has boosted the skills of anti-corruption practitioners to investigate offshore structures used to hide and launder money and to request information and evidence from abroad.
Publication
Case Study 4: The Russian arms dealer case
This case study explains how the Peruvian State used its non-conviction based forfeiture law, extinción de dominio, to recover a Swiss bank account containing illicit kickbacks paid for the purchase of war planes.
This case was the first of a series of cases between Peru and Switzerland involving Peru’s extinción de dominio law, which enables the confiscation of illicit assets in cases where a criminal conviction of an individual is not possible or desirable. It has paved the way for other proceedings, some of which are still pending in the tribunals.
Publication
Case Study 2: From the UK’s first Deferred Prosecution Agreement to a plea bargain in Tanzania
This case study explains how Tanzania’s anti-corruption and prosecution authorities worked together and with international partners on a case involving a major bank accused of violating the UK Bribery Act and subject to the UK’s first Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
Why is international cooperation in asset recovery cases based on illicit enrichment/unexplained wealth laws a particularly challenging issue? This is a question we have received from many corners of the world following our publication last year of an open-access book on Illicit Enrichment: A Guide to Laws Targeting Unexplained Wealth.
See summary report released in December 2021: Boosting Co-operation in Asset Recovery: Exploring the Potential of Private Sector Engagement and Public-Private Collaboration
How can law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence units and private financial institutions such as banks work better together to identify, freeze and confiscate criminal assets?
Technical assistance from the Basel Institute on Governance in a landmark case of non-conviction based confiscation in Peru has enabled the successful confiscation of around one million dollars linked to terrorist financing.