Stolen Asset Recovery : A Good Practices Guide for Non-conviction Based Asset Forfeiture
The guide is organized into three major parts: Part A first provides an overview of the problem of stolen assets and the problem of recovering the assets once they are transferred abroad. Second, it describes how the international community has tak...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333038_20090413022407 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2615 |
| Summary: | The guide is organized into three major
parts: Part A first provides an overview of the problem of
stolen assets and the problem of recovering the assets once
they are transferred abroad. Second, it describes how the
international community has taken steps to respond to the
problem through United Nations Convention against Corruption
(UNCAC) and the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative.
UNCAC introduced a new framework to facilitate the tracing,
freezing, seizing, forfeiture, and return of assets stolen
through corrupt practices and hidden in foreign
jurisdictions. The StAR Initiative developed an action plan
to support the domestication and implementation of asset
recovery provisions under UNCAC, to facilitate
countries' efforts to recover stolen assets that have
been hidden in foreign jurisdictions, and ultimately, to
help deter such flows and eliminate safe havens for hiding
corruption proceeds. Third and finally, Part A introduces
non-conviction based (NCB) asset forfeiture as one of the
critical tools to combat corruption, describing the
situations when it is useful, how it differs from criminal
forfeiture, its usefulness in civil and common law
jurisdictions, and the support it has gained
internationally. Part B contains the 36 key concepts. The
concepts have been grouped together by topic area, including
prime imperatives, definitions of assets and offenses
subject to NCB asset forfeiture, measures for investigation
and preservation of assets, procedural and evidentiary
concepts, determining parties and ensuring proper notice,
judgment proceedings, organizational considerations and
asset management, and international cooperation and asset
recovery. The concepts are illustrated through examples from
cases and excerpts from different jurisdictions' NCB
asset forfeiture legislation. Part C contains a number of
special contributions written by individual practitioners.
The contributions focus on the general practice of NCB asset
forfeiture and international cooperation in specific
jurisdictions, namely Colombia, Guernsey, Ireland, Kuwait,
Switzerland, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. In addition,
some contributions illustrate a selection of NCB asset
forfeiture practices, such as asset management, delegating
certain roles to the executive branch, and pursuing
forfeiture based on illicit enrichment. |
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