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June 9,
2010—At
a time of global economic hardship,
corruption fighters from around the
world convened this week in Paris to
work against further plundering of
developing countries, by supporting
efforts against asset theft and safe
havens for ill-gotten gains.
“Each year,
through acts of corruption, developing
countries lose billions of dollars that
find safe haven in international
financial centers,” said the World Bank
Group’s Managing Director, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala. “This enables and
promotes the globalization of
corruption.”
By
conservative estimates, every year an
estimated $20-$40 billion is stolen from
developing countries through bribery,
misappropriation of funds and other
corrupt practices. The lost
opportunities are enormous. According to
the World Bank, developing countries
could use $20 billion to finance 48,000
km of two-lane paved roads; first-line
treatment for 120 million people with
HIV/AIDS for a full year; or some 50
million water connections for
households.
“Corruption,
like violence and barbaric acts, must be
eradicated,” said Christine Lagarde,
France’s Minister for the Economy,
Industry and Employment. “It is an issue
of economic development.”
Lagarde and
Okonjo-Iweala spoke at a special session
of the conference,
No Safe Havens: A Global Forum for
Stolen Asset Recovery and Development, convened June
8 -9 in Paris. The event was
co-sponsored by the Stolen Asset
Recovery Initiative (StAR) —a
partnership between the World Bank and
the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) —and the government of
Switzerland.
“Never give
up, keep up the fight,” said Lagarde
referring to stolen asset recovery and
the need for civil society to “keep
watching” to ensure transparency and
accountability. She also called for more
transparency and regulation of the
financial sector, an issue that was
widely discussed during the conference.
Several
participants stressed the need for
financial institutions to ensure
effective customer due diligence
measures and take more proactive steps
to stop corrupt funds from being
laundered. Participants noted that
corruption is a major impediment to
investment and, therefore, responsible
businesses should eliminate corrupt
practices.
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There
were
also
calls
for the
issues
of
corruption
and
stolen
asset
recovery
to be at
the
center
of the
international
agenda,
especially
as the
G-20
leaders
are
meeting
at the
end of
June
2010 in
Toronto,
Canada,
to
discuss
the
global
economy
and
development.
“As
world
leaders
convene
at the
G-20
meetings
and
other
fora in
the
coming
weeks to
discuss
the
economic
crisis,
stimulus
plans
and
financial
regulation,
the
fight
against
corruption
and
asset
theft
should
be at
the top
of their
agenda,”
said
Okonjo-Iweala
at the
kick-off
of the
two-day
conference.
Solving
the
problem
of asset
theft
“is very
important
for
developing
countries
because
it is
diverting
resources
that
could
otherwise
be used
for good
purposes,”
said the
Minister
of
Justice
of South
Africa,
Jeffrey
Thamsanqa
Radebe.
“We need
collective
action
to
ensure
there
are no
safe
havens
for
criminals.” |
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Several
experts
said
corruption
is not
an issue
circumscribed
to
developing
nations,
since
the
proceeds
of
corruption
often
find
safe
havens
in the
financial
centers
of
developed
countries.
They
stressed
the need
to act
in a
coordinated
way.
“For
corruption,
you need
at least
two
people.
You
cannot
do
corruption
with
yourself,”
said Mo
Ibrahim,
Founder
of the
Mo
Ibrahim
Foundation,
which
works on
governance
issues
in
Africa.
The
Foreign
Minister
of
Switzerland,
Micheline
Calmy-Rey
agreed.
“Because
we are
all part
of the
problem,
we must
also all
be part
of the
solution,”
she
said.
“We have
to work
together
to
ensure
that
corruption
does no
longer
undermine
development.”
Both
Okonjo-Iweala
and
Calmy-Rey
called
for the
ratification
of the
United
Nations
Convention
against
Corruption
(UNCAC)
by all
countries. |
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