Tunisia’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a controversial law granting “reconciliation” to public officials involved in corruption who served in government during the rule of the autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. This law, which for many critics is simply an amnesty for criminals and a way to rehabilitate Ben Ali’s allies back into Read more about Is Tunisia reconciliating with the corrupt?[…]
More than a decade has past since Vladimiro Montesinos, head of Peru’s intelligence service and advisor to President Fujimori, received his first sentence for what would expand to be more than 30 convictions related to corruption. Montesinos, known as President Fujimori’s “Rasputin,” was charged for embezzlement, influence peddling, bribery and involvement in a death squad, Read more about Montesinos is gone, but has Peru recovered all the money he stole?[…]
Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, better known as Teodorin, is the son of the dictator of Equatorial Guinea, a country with vast oil revenues and endemic poverty. 70% of Equatorial Guinea’s citizens live on just $1 a day Teodorin’s father, President Obiang, not only installed his eldest son as minister of forestry; he also granted him Read more about The spoiled kid who loots Equatorial Guinea[…]
Civil society’s work to recover stolen assets is dominated by technical topics—from mutual legal assistance and secrecy jurisdictions, to beneficial ownership. Due to the complex nature of these technicalities, organisations that lead asset recovery efforts have mostly failed to engage the public and effectively transform angry citizens into an engaged citizenry. Civil society has an Read more about What Civil Society Can Do To Recover Assets[…]
Masses of people flooded the streets to protest the endemic corruption of their governments in Cairo, Tunis and many other Arab cities. Following these uprisings six years ago, sanctions were imposed on public officials for misappropriating public funds. Here’s a look at recent European Union (EU) actions, such as asset freezes and visa restrictions. Egypt Read more about Beyond Egypt: other people worth sanctioning in MENA[…]
During the protests in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011, which led to the removal of longtime dictators Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, the Council of the European Union did something remarkable and, at the time, relatively unprecedented – it issued a regulation to its member states which pre-emptively froze the assets held Read more about What are the EU sanctions and why are they important?[…]
Over the last 20 years, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, his family and close circle of advisers allegedly enriched themselves through partnerships in powerful Egyptian companies, profiting from their political power and illicit enrichment from public money, according to numerous reports. Evidence shows that their wealth—obtained from illegal activities—was deposited or invested not just in Read more about 6 years later, where are Mubarak´s billions?[…]
Zine el Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia in January 2011 following popular protests which ended his 23-year rule at the start of what became known as the Arab Spring. It is no secret how the ruler and his family enriched themselves during that period. The World Bank estimates the wealth of the Ben Ali family Read more about The Tunisian Job: How to recover 13 billion dollars stolen by the Ben Ali family[…]
The asset recovery process is cumbersome, long and expensive. In fact, the average asset recovery process lasts over six years. However, there are cases that last much longer. Successful cross-border asset tracing and recovery requires the following steps: – Tracing and identifying the assets. It is necessary not just to locate the assets and funds Read more about Is there a happy ending when recovering assets?[…]
(Click here for Spanish) Despite the alarming political, economic and social impact of public asset theft, the world of asset recovery remains a mystery to the general public. As 20 to 40 billion dollars in state assets are stolen by public officials or powerful leaders in developing countries throughout the world, it’s time we learn Read more about What is asset recovery and why you should care[…]