22/01/2021 Lucia Cizmaziova

Event

Ten years on: are sanctions working for asset recovery?

12th February 2021, 17:00 – 19:00 CET

The event will be held in English with Portuguese and Spanish interpretation

REGISTER

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Kleptocrats are estimated to steal billions of US dollars annually, however only a small fraction of illicit assets is successfully traced and frozen, and even a smaller amount is eventually returned back to the jurisdictions where they were stolen from. 

The European Union recently adopted the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, which will allow it to apply travel bans and freeze the assets of individuals implicated in human rights violations and abuses across the world. 

Unlike the most prominent similar legislation, the US Global Magnitsky Act, the European framework omits the involvement in corruption among its designation criteria. The omission of the corruption criteria raises questions about the real impact and effectiveness of the new sanctions regime in the fight against kleptocracy.

The Civil Forum for Asset Recovery (CiFAR) invites you to this online event to explore the issue of sanctions as a tool for asset recovery and to discuss the impact of EU sanctions regimes on corruption-related crimes.

The event will start with the introduction of CiFAR’s new report Sanctions as a Tool for Asset Recovery. We will conclude with a panel discussion considering the existing and new EU Human Rights sanctions regimes and their potential to fight corruption and advance asset recovery, with a special focus on the ongoing cases in Tunisia, Ukraine, Nigeria, and Kenya.

Agenda

17:00 Opening remarks

  • Jackson Oldfield, Chair, CIFAR – Civil Forum for Asset Recovery

17:10 New report introduction

Sanctions as a Tool for Asset Recovery, followed by Q&A

  • Lucia Cizmaziova, Project Coordinator, CIFAR – Civil Forum for Asset Recovery 

17:30 Panel discussion

EU Human Rights Sanctions Regime: Challenges and Opportunities for the Fight Against Corruption

Moderator: 

  • Tinatin Tsertsvadze, Policy Analyst, Open Society European Policy Institute

Panelists:

  • Dr Clara Portela, Senior Associate Analyst, European Union Institute for Security Studies, France
  • Tetiana Shevchuk, Legal Advisor, Anti-corruption Action Centre, Ukraine
  • Titus Ogalo, Programme Coordinator, Transparency International, Kenya
  • Youssef Belgacem, I Watch Organisation, Tunisia  

19:00 End

Please register here: https://forms.gle/2XxynX8q1UsnQDnSA