Returning assets indirectly through third-party entities

Read our new report – Indirect Asset Return 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 Read more about Returning assets indirectly through third-party entities[…]

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[…]

Can international anti-corruption sanctions help advance sustainable development?

On 3rd September 2020 CiFAR participated in the first Global Forum on Illicit Financial Flows and Sustainable Development, organised by the German and Norwegian governments. One of the workshops we organised focused on the potential of international targeted sanctions to fight corruption.

Hunting Saleh’s treasure – CiFAR’s interview with the Zenith magazine

The assets of Yemeni ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was murdered in 2017, are probably distributed among at least 20 countries. The repatriation of the illegally accumulated funds is proving to be particularly tricky. In early 2020, CiFAR published a report Yemen’s Stolen Assets: Past and Future, explaining both some of the challenges that led to Read more about Hunting Saleh’s treasure – CiFAR’s interview with the Zenith magazine[…]

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?[…]

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[…]

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?[…]