16th IACC

Asset recovery is critical to restoring the trust of people in two ways. On the one hand, the recovery of assets is considered an essential way to sanction criminal actions and reduce the incentives for corruption. As such it strengthens the effectiveness of the legal framework and bolsters the rule of law, which in turn enables more equal access to justice which is an essential component of citizens’ trust in the functioning of state institutions. On the other hand, returning stolen assets to their original purposes, often also serving to compensate victims, directly or indirectly, who have suffered from the underlying crimes, enables to restore peoples’ trust in the justice system and its ability to sanction and, more importantly, undo to a point the harm caused by crime.

It is money laundering and other illicit financial transactions that enable the corrupt to hide the proceeds of their crimes and benefit from them. Therefore it is essential for the fight against corruption to make clear to the corrupt that their loot is not safe anywhere and to eliminate all loopholes and safe havens for illicit financial flows. Illicit financial flows are also a development issue, as it is a general consensus that illicit financial outflows from developing countries likely exceed inflows of international aid and investment in volume. Consequently, it is equally critical to recognise that once stolen assets have been confiscated, they must be returned to the country and purpose of origin through mechanisms that ensure transparency and accountability and that gives consideration to victims, to the original purpose of the stolen funds, and to developmental impacts that returned assets can have. Thus, the session will examine good practices in investigation and prosecution in asset recovery cases. It will also examine good practices in asset return, and specific examples will be reviewed (e.g., Kazakhstan, Nigeria, as well as future cases such as Ukraine and Tunisia).

The main objectives of the session is to present the challenges surrounding the asset recovery process with a view to ensuring that involved jurisdictions devote the necessary resources to investigate stolen assets and ensure that corruption-related offences do not remain unpunished. Furthermore, showing the results of these efforts – the return of these assets to the country of origin – will send the message that government officials do not operate above the law.

The Defense and Security sector is one of the most opaque sectors of government, yet it wields significant powers and engages in a broad range of activities that create opportunities for corruption, both petty and grand. With corruption in defense establishments there comes loss of public trust and the undermining of operational effectiveness, for example, when defective or inappropriate equipment is purchased. In an effort to better understand these risks, Transparency International UK has developed the Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index, which for the first time evaluates how countries perform in reducing corruption in five key risk areas. This index provides governments, armed forces, civil society and citizens with an important tool to not only identify where corruption manifests in the defense and security sector but also how to advocate for the reforms needed to end the danger it brings.
This panel will begin by providing an overview of the specific issues the Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index evaluates and how civil society can use this information to shape advocacy and engagement strategies. The audience will then hear the real-life experiences and lessons learned of a civil society organization that used the Index to effect change in its defense sector. Following the panel discussion, the audience will break into groups to have a more in-depth discussion with representatives from TI chapters from around the world to develop their own strategies of effective practices and institutional controls to address the 5 corruption risk areas identified in the Index. Through these discussions, participants will learn practical lessons on how civil society can constructively engage and support initiatives to enhance transparency in defense/security budgeting and how to successfully advocate for reform to combat corruption in their own countries.


Opening Panel Discussion

Katherine Dixon, Defence and Security Programme Director, TI United Kingdom

Saif Alhaddi, Advocacy & Outreach Officer, TI Yemen

 

Breakout Session Facilitators

Katherine Dixon, Defence and Security Programme Director, TI United Kingdom

Amira El-Sayed, Civil Society Lead, TI United Kingdom

Zoe Reiter, Americas Regional Program Manager, Transparency International

Chantal Uwimana, Africa Regional Director, Transparency International

Maj. Nathan Kearns, Defence Institute of International Studies, US Department of Defence

 

Breakout Session Problem Owners

Political Risk: Achraf Aouadi, TI Tunisia

Operations Risk: Peter Conze, TI Germany

Financial Risk: Carlos Hernandez, TI Honduras

Personnel Risk: Ronald “Lucky” Menoe, TI South Africa

Procurement Risk: Dedi Haryadi, TI Indonesia