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The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical comparative analysis on cross-border suspect wealth issues and international efforts to curb corruption-related suspect wealth. Through the lens of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) Initiative, this paper illustrates the strength and limitations of current anti-corruption frames and as a result, sheds lights on the dilemmas of tackling suspect wealth on the ground.

This paper begins with an overview of the magnitude of suspect wealth; then it compares the focuses of the UNCAC and the StAR Initiative. The author draws upon lessons from previous suspect wealth settlement cases to illustrate the limitations of applying the international frameworks. Finally, this paper takes China as case study to highlight lessons for future anti-corruption efforts.

According to the StAR Initiative, $20–$40bn worth of public assets are stolen via corruption each year, amounting to 20% to 40% of development assistance annually. But the most recent data estimate that the total assets repatriated from OECD countries were $423m from 2006 to 2012, which was only a small fraction of estimated stolen assets. This highlights that tackling suspect wealth not only has moral value but also provides practical benefits for countries seeking development finance.

The UNCAC has brought international cooperation and the importance of transparency to the forefront of tackling suspect wealth. It creates an international norm for recovering and repatriating stolen assets. But due to its loose implementation and enforcement, the UNCAC has left loopholes in anti-corruption policymaking, particularly in countries lacking the rule of law. By comparison, the StAR Initiative takes innovative approach such as using insolvency for asset recovery and country-based capacity building to strengthen originating countries’ ability to repatriate assets. Both the UNCAC and the StAR Initiative are well-intended, but authoritarian regimes and weak rule of law often create dilemma for international collaboration.

This paper provides recommendations on how to further tackle suspect wealth with existing international frameworks.

Reducing suspect wealth contributes to society equity and restores public trust by recovering much needed public assets and development resources.

This paper illustrates the effect of UNCAC and the StAR Initiative through a comparative lens. It demonstrates how rising authoritarianism can create dilemmas for work against corruption and suspect wealth. Finally, it provides potential policy prescriptions for navigating such dilemmas via shared international efforts.

Plant and equipment theft (PET) is inherent throughout the construction sector. Its effect places direct financial burden on those who have invested in such assets, but additionally, induces “indirect” costs for many other stakeholders including project owners, plant hirers and construction managers. The paper's objective is to take and discuss a snapshot of PET, the overriding aim being to aid greater understanding of it and in particular, the application of (post‐theft) recovery technologies.

Descriptive case study data are considered along with informal, anecdotal evidence provided by practitioners. These data are qualitatively considered; observations are discussed; a model representation of PET and recovery is developed; and conclusions are drawn.

Plant and equipment thieves are shown to be audacious and determined, but it is identified that in addressing these characteristics, recent advances in plant security and recovery technologies (PSRT) have been significant. Arguably, PSRT are not being adopted as broadly as they should be to offset the PET problem.

The formal model of PET might help inform future academic endeavour in the subject of plant and equipment management generally and PET specifically.

The model suggests that more widespread use of PSRT may not only help defeat plant thieves, but additionally help recover stolen assets and identify organised criminal networks.

The work is novel in setting and will be of interest to both academics and practitioners in the field.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the unexplained wealth inside the corporation and to initiate and apply unexplained wealth order in the Indonesian corporation based on the Indonesian legal system and prevailing laws. An effective tool needs to be implemented because of the facts that numerous corporate illegal activities lead to economic and financial crime. Meanwhile, there are difficulties to implement the corporate criminal liability. Non-conviction-based asset forfeiture will be a way out to deal with the current condition.

This paper explores and analyzes the Indonesian legal system, particularly a non-conviction-based asset forfeiture for corporate illegal activities. This paper is based on the research paper conducted with the legal normative approach.

Non-conviction-based asset forfeiture through unexplained wealth order will be an effective tool and a revolutionary pattern in the crime prevention perspective dealing with corporate crime. Corporate criminal liability in anti-corruption regime can be viewed from two perspectives by combining and integrating crime prevention approach as well as the repressive approach. The Indonesian Supreme Court Regulation number 13 of 2016 is a breakthrough in the criminal justice system to redesign case handling procedure toward corporate crime. It needs to be supported by precise asset forfeiture law. Furthermore it is necessity to strengthening and built corporations with moral and ethical business values.

This paper can be a source to explore the unexplained wealth that can occur in the corporation and the way to overcome it through unexplained wealth order and non-conviction-based asset forfeiture.

This paper contributes by initiating a non-conviction-based asset forfeiture, which is implementing the in rem proceeding, to make sure the crime does not pay and the victim and society suffer less because of the corporate crime.

This study aims to first analyze the inhibiting factors for cross-border asset recovery and, second, analyze the solutions to any barriers to cross-border asset recovery.

This study was normative legal research with legal materials collected by document studies and literature studies. This study used a statute approach and a conceptual approach

First, the inhibiting factors for cross-border asset recovery are regulation-related issues, lack of mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties, differences in legal systems and the interests of the country, where the assets are placed. Second, the solutions to the barriers to cross-border asset recovery are regulatory reforms and diplomacy strengthening.

This study found some barriers and solutions to cross-border asset recovery. These can provide inspirations for subsequent studies to be reviewed in more depth.

This study will be very useful for the Indonesian Government to formulate effective and efficient policies related to cross-border asset recovery.

With effective and efficient policies related to cross-border asset recovery, it can prevent criminals from hiding their criminal assets abroad.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, until now, there has been no study that comprehensively discloses the barriers and solutions related to the failure of the Indonesian Government to conduct cross-border asset recovery. Therefore, it is expected that this study will be very useful for the Indonesian Government and other researchers to conduct further studies on this issue.

Corruption is a long-standing challenge in Nigeria. The country’s development crises, including widespread poverty and insecurity, have direct and indirect links to corruption. The paradox of corruption in Nigeria is that political elites have politicised its elimination: while preaching anti-corruption, they are still neck-deep in corrupt practices. The purpose of this study centres on Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade in the context of its effectiveness in attracting global support for external loot recovery. A related preoccupation of this study is to unravel the extent to which Nigeria’s anti-corruption accomplishments or otherwise have shaped international perception.

This study adopts a qualitative research design. It draws from primary data generated from 25 key informant interviews and complemented with secondary data from archival materials to examine Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade, especially global perception and its overall implication in motorising the country’s quest for external loot recovery. It deploys unstructured interview guide to generate data from the key informants.

This study unveils three interrelated issues: since 1999, the promise of eliminating corruption from Nigeria’s body politic has been a recurring campaign theme without corresponding credible action against it. Although anti-corruption agencies exist in Nigeria, the country’s corruption profile is high, an indication of their ineffectiveness. The persistence of corruption has resulted in poor national image, thereby shaping negative international perception about Nigeria. The politicisation of Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade has undermined international support and created uncertainty in the country’s quest for the recovery of its looted national funds.

The negative perception of the international community about the commitment of the Nigerian Government in fighting corruption has negative implications on the strategic partnership necessary for loot recovery across the globe.

The overall social implication is loss of global support for Nigeria’s anti-corruption drive, including its quest to recover its stolen national assets and other forms of international assistance for national development.

The value of this study is two-fold, one, its recency and originality in terms of interrogating the interconnections between domestic efforts at anti-corruption and global perception of such efforts; and two, the contextualisation of the compromised efficiency of Nigeria’s anti-graft agenda and its overall implications in securing global support for external loot recovery.

Recent developments in the EU’s anti-corruption strategy have brought the EU closer to meeting the UNCAC’s objectives, i.e. the Proposal for a Directive on combating corruption (2023) and the Proposal for a Directive on Asset Recovery and Confiscation (2022). This paper aims to discuss these developments from the perspective of the UNCAC, to identify missing elements in the EU’s asset recovery mechanisms.

Critical approach towards EU anti-corruption policy (discussing the problems and solutions). Review of EU developments in asset recovery law.

There is a political will on the part of the EU to fight corruption through the rules enshrined in the UNCAC. However, improving EU law by introducing a new type of confiscation of unexplained wealth and criminalising illicit enrichment, without establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets from EU territory to the countries of origin, cannot be seen as sufficient action to achieve the UNCAC’s objectives. In modelling mechanisms of the return of assets, the EU should search for solutions to overcome the difficulties resulting from the ordre public clause remaining a significant factor conditioning mutual legal assistance.

This paper discusses the possible input of the EU, as a non-State Party to the UNCAC, to advance implementing the UNCAC solutions on asset recovery by establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets from EU territory to countries of origin.

Corporate foreign bribery can have devastating consequences on communities and states. Over the past decade, there have been several promising developments, both national and international, that might increase the chances of victim states to receive remediation for the harm they suffered from foreign bribery. In particular, awareness has risen that victim states must be considered and new innovative items have been added to the toolbox of prosecutors in the fight against corruption that is assumed to also improve victim states’ standing in these procedures. This study aims to assess whether indeed victim states receive compensation through these novel procedures.

This study uses the three case studies of Switzerland, France and England and Wales for a comprehensive empirical and normative analysis of settlement agreements between defendants and prosecution authorities and of court jurisprudence.

This study shows that although de jure, it seems warranted to order the payment of remedies to victim states within domestic criminal proceedings, in practice, this rarely happens. A number of legal and practical obstacles account for this situation. This study, therefore, calls for the formulation of international guidelines containing the obligation to inform victim states of ongoing criminal proceedings on corporate foreign bribery, and guidance on how to identify the victim of this crime, as well as the damage caused.

This is the first contribution to verify whether claims that settlement agreements, recently introduced in England and Wales and France (and similar procedures are available in Switzerland), are beneficial for victim states in their quest to receive compensation. As this study shows that this is – not yet – the case in practice, this study proposes solutions that could lead the way for remediation of the harm caused by corporate corruption – and thereby, ultimately, to a more just outcome.

The purpose of this conference paper is to provide a contextual and better understanding of the nexus between corruption and money laundering, in order to enhance the role of anti‐money laundering (AML) in combating corruption.

This paper analyses the key elements of the linkage between AML and anti‐corruption, and provides Australia and China as examples, demonstrating the potential importance of using AML to combat corruption.

It is found that apart from the main financial sectors, designated non‐financial sectors and high‐risk customers involved businesses are also vulnerable for money laundering, such as non‐financial designated business and professions, and politically exposed persons. In the meantime, these factors are regarded as the key points to combat corruption.

This paper highlights the corruption risks hidden in designated non‐financial business and professionals, and the risks of laundering the proceeds of corruption by politically exposed persons and financially exposed persons (FEPs).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of corruption on the transposition of global anti‐money laundering regimes (AML), such as customer due diligence (CDD) locally.

The global AML framework for purposes of this paper is underscored by the 40+9 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the principles of the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision. These standards are contained in FATF recommendations 2003; and the FATF nine special recommendations against Financing of Terrorism 2001 (updated in February 2008). The paper examines some aspects of the current anti‐money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework such as CDD and know your customer to highlight the challenges of harnessing the global AML/CFT regimes locally in some jurisdictions.

The paper establishes that money laundering (ML) and corruption are embedded in each other. By way of examples, cases of ML are rampant in highly corrupt countries.

The dichotomy of corruption and its effect negates the global efforts on fighting ML/financing of terrorism.

Corruption in its various manifestations undermines a country's capacity to harness the global framework against ML and financing of terrorism. Thus, the twin offences of corruption and ML should be accorded the same level of attention as serious financial crimes at a global level.

The paper is written based on the challenges of harnessing the global AML/CFT regimes in inherently corrupt governments. It draws particularly on experiences of corruption and ML in some countries in Africa.

This study aims to investigate the Federal Government’s failure to combat money laundering and terrorism financing and the various hurdles to enforce the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2012 (as amended), effectively, which prohibits illegal earnings criminally induced investments in and out of Nigeria. This has had an impact on the country’s economic potential and its image in the international community. Despite many anti-corruption laws criminalising money laundering and terrorism financing, it is rated among the nations with the highest poverty index despite its immense natural resources.

This study uses a conceptual legal method to help a doctrinal library-based investigation by using existing material. This study also makes use of main and secondary legislation, such as the Constitution, the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amended) Act 2012 and the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013 (as amended), as well as case law, international conventions, textbooks and peer-reviewed publications. A comparison of anti-money laundering legislation in Canada, the UK, Hong Kong, China and Nigeria was conducted, with lessons learned for Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing laws. According to the findings, the Act is silent on the criminal use of legitimate earnings to fund terrorism and cultism.

There is no well-defined legal framework for asset recovery and confiscation. In Nigeria’s legal system, this evident void must be addressed immediately. To supplement existing efforts to prevent money laundering, the research develops a hybrid model that incorporates the inputs of government representatives and civil society organisations. This study suggests a complete revision of the Act to eliminate ambiguity and focus on the goals of global anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist funding restrictions.

One of the limitations of this study is the paucity of literature and data on money laundering and terrorist financing in Nigeria due to the secrecy around the crimes, which do not give room for the collection of statistical data and due to the transactional nature of the crimes. This is not to submit that no attempts have been made in the past or recent times to quantify the global value of money laundering and its effects on Nigeria’s economy. Such attempts have been inconclusive and inaccurate.

The dearth of records on the magnitude of money laundering in Nigeria has limited generalising the research findings due to the limited access to some required information. However, this study is suitable for adoption in other sectors of the economy in dealing with clandestineness in money laundering and terrorism financing. Future researchers are commended to use the quantitative assessment method to appraise the effects of money laundering and terrorist financing laws and policies in Africa to supplement the current literature in the field.

The research develops a hybrid model that incorporates the inputs of government representatives and civil society organisations. This study suggests a complete revision of the Act to eliminate ambiguity and focus on the goals of global anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist funding restrictions.