News & Research

Innovative, evidence-based research is the backbone of asset recovery reform. We empower civil society with country assessments, global policy analysis, and the strategic tools necessary to drive transparency and accountability in global asset recovery efforts.

The Jersey Return: Public Participation and Transparency Lessons

The announcement of the Jersey return of GBP 3 million  - the latest cross border return to Kenya - was welcomed with pomp and gladness by Kenyans in general, because these had been a long coming return! The signing and announcement of the Agreement for the recovery, transfer, repatriation, disposition and management of recovered asset was completed on the 28th of March 2022. However, to date, public information on the return has been limited.

Returning assets indirectly through third-party entities

Indirect return mechanisms describe the practice of returning recovered money across borders indirectly via third-party entities that stand between cooperating governments. These entities might be called in to aid in the negotiations, as well as in the process of the distribution of the returned assets, especially in situations where there are challenging relationships between the negotiating governments and when the receiving countries lack the necessary corruption controls to mitigate the risk of re-looting the assets.

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 key anti-corruption sanctions lists across different jurisdiction