Anti-corruption sanctions: 2023 in numbers

In 2023, sanctions continued to be a popular tool of foreign policy and many new individuals and entities were designated for one reason or another. As CiFAR launches its updated Sanctions Watch platform today, which tracks individuals sanctioned for reasons related to corruption, this blog takes stock of the changed listings across key anti-corruption sanctions Read more about Anti-corruption sanctions: 2023 in numbers[…]

FINANCIAL INVESTIGATIONS AS A FIRST STEP TO RECOVER SANCTIONED ASSETS

Is it possible to confiscate sanctioned assets and use them for public good? How to do this quickly and without compromising the rule of law? These are some of the questions that CiFAR has been trying to understand since the freezing of Tunisian, Egyptian and Ukrainian assets under the EU’s misappropriation sanctions. These questions became Read more about <strong>FINANCIAL INVESTIGATIONS AS A FIRST STEP TO RECOVER SANCTIONED ASSETS</strong>[…]

Anti-corruption sanctions: 2022 in numbers

While sanctions lists have grown this year primarily due to new listings in connection to individuals linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, anti-corruption sanctions have not been forgotten. As CiFAR launches its updated Sanctions Watch platform today, which tracks individuals sanctioned for reasons related to corruption, this blog takes stock of this year’s changes in Read more about Anti-corruption sanctions: 2022 in numbers[…]

EU MISAPPROPRIATION SANCTIONS TEN YEARS ON – FACTSHEET 2021

BACKGROUND Following the revolutions in 2011 in Tunisia and Egypt and 2014 in Ukraine, the Council of the European Union imposed misappropriation sanctions on people suspected of corruption from the ousted regimes. These require that any assets relating to people on the list, including real estate and bank accounts, are frozen in all EU Member Read more about EU MISAPPROPRIATION SANCTIONS TEN YEARS ON – FACTSHEET 2021[…]

Freeze, confiscate, restore? Swiss ideas for future EU sanctions

This article is drawn from Clara Portela’s report for CiFAR – Sanctioning kleptocrats: An assessment of EU misappropriation sanctions written for CiFAR’s EU Sanctions Watch project. The blog was initially written for the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and can be read in full on their website.  Sanctions for ‘misappropriation’ have proved their worth in forging ties Read more about Freeze, confiscate, restore? Swiss ideas for future EU sanctions[…]

What are the EU misappropriation sanctions and what are we doing about them?

With the help of their corrupt networks, kleptocrats steal billions from their citizens every year. One of the tools the European Union has at its disposal to fight kleptocrats are sanctions that freeze their assets. On 6th of March, at a Brussels event co-organised by our partners at Transparency International EU, CiFAR launched EU Sanctions Watch – Read more about What are the EU misappropriation sanctions and what are we doing about them?[…]

Is Tunisia reconciliating with the corrupt?

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?[…]

Beyond Egypt: other people worth sanctioning in MENA

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[…]

What are the EU sanctions and why are they important?

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?[…]