Angola: From the Dos Santos recovery towards the future?

In mid-August, Angola was again in the news over the conviction of José Filomeno dos Santos, the ex-governor of Angola’s national bank and two others, for fraud and influence peddling relating to the transfer of USD 500,000 from the Angolan National Bank to a bank account in the UK. This case though comes as part Read more about Angola: From the Dos Santos recovery towards the future?[…]

COVID-19 and asset recovery: an overview

The global health pandemic may, on its face, have little to do with cross-border corruption and asset recovery. Look a little beneath the surface though and it becomes clear that the challenges posed by the pandemic have far reaching implications for the prevention of cross-border corruption and the recovery of stolen assets. Pandemic-related challenges The Read more about COVID-19 and asset recovery: an overview[…]

Africa’s asset recovery spring?

African countries lose more than $70 billion a year in illicit financial flows, stemming from crime and corruption. Good news is, following the Nigeria example, more and more of them are stepping up their efforts in recovering stolen assets. Here are four examples we think are interesting to look at. Liberia Liberia’s former president Taylor Read more about Africa’s asset recovery spring?[…]

An effective fight against money laundering in Germany – as important as development aid?

This is a translation of the blog article „Ein effektiver Kampf gegen Geldwäsche in Deutschland – genauso wichtig wie Entwicklungshilfe?!“ published on the blog of the Netzwerk Steuergerechtigkeit (Tax Justice Network) on 26 June 2019. The original article can be found here: https://www.blog-steuergerechtigkeit.de/2019/06/ein-effektiver-kampf-gegen-geldwaesche-in-deutschland-genauso-wichtig-wie-entwicklungshilfe/   By Christoph Trautvetter Germany reformed its law regulating the confiscation of Read more about An effective fight against money laundering in Germany – as important as development aid?[…]

The European Court of Justice annuls Ukrainian sanctions – what now?

The European Court of Justice in its decision of the 11 July 2019 annulled the 2014-2018 EU sanctions that had been in force to freeze the assets of several high-ranking former Ukrainian officials since 2013, including those of former president Yanukovych. These asset freezes had been put in place after the Ukrainian revolution to support Read more about The European Court of Justice annuls Ukrainian sanctions – what now?[…]

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[…]

CiFAR’s interview with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation

“Civil society can contribute to asset recovery and more transparent processes” In 2019, CiFAR in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation researched global challenges in asset recovery and the role civil society plays to fight cross-border corruption. Here is an interview with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation with the authors, Agatino and Jackson from CIFAR, presenting Read more about CiFAR’s interview with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation[…]

The Nigeria “Cash Transfer Programme” takes off among challenges

This blog is part of a series monitoring the utilisation of Nigeria’s recovered assets and was prepared by Oluwatosin Fatoyinbo. Read Oluwatosin’s previous articles on Nigeria here. In our previous blogs, we outlined some of the issues of the Nigerian Cash Transfer Programme, planned to be funded with the $322 million of the Abacha loot Read more about The Nigeria “Cash Transfer Programme” takes off among challenges[…]