by conservative estimates, us$20 billion to $40 billion is stolen from developing countries each...
TRANSCRIPT
By conservative estimates, US$20 billion to $40 billion is
stolen from developing countries each year.
This is equivalent to 20 to 40 percent of total annual
international development assistance
Corruption undermines trust and confidence in government officials,
companies, and banks.
It degrades public institutions and the
rule of law, hinders the delivery of basic
services, diminishes public faith in honest
markets, and discourages private
investment, thus slowing economic
growth and poverty alleviation.
This years’ popular uprisings in Middle East and North Africa raised the
question of hundreds of millions of dollars stashed in havens abroad by
corrupt leaders.
“Stealing is bad enough; ripping off
the poor is disgusting. We need
to trigger a moral revulsion as well as a
legal reaction.”
- World Bank President Robert
Zoellick
The Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative of the World Bank and the UNODC encourages and facilitates a more systematic and timely return of assets stolen by politically exposed persons through acts of corruption.
StAR works with developing countries, financial centers and other stakeholders, providing technical support and advice on the systematic and timely return of assets stolen by corrupt officials.
StAR advises countries’ law-enforcement officials and judicial authorities on how to prevent the laundering of the proceeds of corruption and how to confiscate and repatriate ill-gotten gains stashed overseas by corrupt officials.
StAR facilitates the exchange of information among practitioners.
The StAR team includes lawyers, prosecutors, financial investigators, law-enforcement officers, and investigating magistrates.
Middle East
Latin America
Africa
East Asia
Europe
has trained 720 experts from 70 countries
on asset recovery in:
Get involved in litigation or criminal proceedings
Finance legal representation
Manage cases or make decisions on the conduct of cases
Help countries define strategies and make informed decisions in their asset recovery programs
Deliver gap analysis, capacity building and training
Facilitate coordination/dialogue between states parties through all forms of international cooperation, inc Mutual Legal Assistance
Support the preparation and analysis of information on asset recovery aspects of specific cases
Does:
Does Not:
Guides and Tools Asset Recovery Handbook Barriers to Asset Recovery Non-Conviction Based
Asset Forfeiture Guide Managing Asset Returns Income and Asset
Declarations Asset Recovery Watch
Database Politically Exposed
Persons (PEPs) Legal Library Quantification of Proceeds
of Bribery (with OECD)
StAR and the OECD have measured the progress of 30 donor countries in meeting their Accra commitments to (1) combat corruption by individuals or corporations, and to (2) track, freeze, and recover illegally acquired assets.
This analysis highlights the challenges in meeting these commitments, and puts forward recommendations and good practices for both donors and partner countries.
This report is the first attempt to gauge OECD countries’ efforts on asset recovery.
The full report will be available at: www.oecd.org/dac/governance or www.worldbank.org/star.
For the Busan Conference on Aid Effectiveness:
Assets Frozen by 30 OECD Countries (2006 – 2009)
Full Results revealed at the Busan Conference on Aid Effectiveness and www.worldbank.org/star
Assets Returned by 30 OECD Countries (2006 – 2009)
Full Results revealed at the Busan Conference on Aid Effectiveness and www.worldbank.org/star
For more about our work, please visit:
www.worldbank.org/star