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Asia-Pacific countries strengthen co-operation in the fight against corruption
5-7 September 2007 – Bali, Indonesia
Government representatives and experts from some thirty countries and jurisdictions gathered in Bali, Indonesia, from 5-7 September 2007, for a two-day international seminar on Asset Recovery and Mutual Legal Assistance.
The seminar provides a forum for exchanging knowledge and discussing formal and informal measures to obtain international legal assistance across jurisdictions, particular as this assistance relates to the confiscation and recovery, from foreign jurisdictions, of assets obtained through corrupt practice.
“Corruption is a financial crime, with no boundary of states, considering that the crime proceeds are often laundered and hidden in foreign countries”, said the Chairman of Commission for Eradication of Corruption in Indonesia (KPK), Mr Taufiqurrahman Ruki, as he welcomed the 170 experts to the Seminar.
The tracking and recovery of assets is an important issue on the international anticorruption agenda. The fight against corruption involves prevention, detection and effective prosecution. The ability of prosecutors and courts to access evidence and recover the proceeds of corruption is critical to this process. The issue entered the international arena with the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (1997) and the discussion has gained momentum as a result of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003). Both instruments include provisions for international cooperation in the area of mutual legal assistance and asset recovery.
The seminar is hosted by the Government of Indonesia and organized by the Asian Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific, the Basel Institute on Governance, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in collaboration with KPK. It follows the 10th Steering Group meeting of the Initiative during which members reviewed their policies for mutual legal assistance, extradition, and asset recovery. Members also discussed their priorities, strategies and ongoing reforms to fight corruption in the Asian and Pacific Region. The Initiative welcomed Bhutan as its 28th member.
The ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative was launched in 1999 and the 2001 Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Asia and the Pacific has been endorsed by 28 member countries and jurisdictions. For more detailed information on the Initiative, please visit www.oecd.org/corruption/asiapacific.
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