The initiative jointly launched by the World Bank and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on Monday to help developing countries recover assets stolen by corrupt officials is a sign that the UN convention against corruption, which took effect nearly two years ago, is being turned into concrete action.

Corrupt officials fleeing abroad with stolen proceeds have been a headache for many developing countries. And the phenomenon is becoming an issue of international concern. The cross-border flow of the global proceeds from criminal activities, corruption, and tax evasion are estimated at between 1 trillion and 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars per year, according to a UN document.

Several hundred corrupt officials have fled abroad with stolen assets in the past decades in China alone. Efforts by the public security departments have repatriated some along with their ill-gotten gains, but most are still at large because of lack of cooperation between developing countries and their developed counterparts.

Loopholes in corruption prevention in developing countries are undoubtedly to blame for so many to be able to embezzle public funds or take bribes and then flee abroad. The transition from a planned economy to a market one in countries like China is not only where the two economic systems are supposed to meet, but where corruption is most likely to occur.

It goes without saying that developing countries must make every effort to plug these loopholes by establishing effective supervisory and monitoring mechanisms.

But on the other side of the coin is the fact that some Western countries turn out to be a haven where corrupt officials can expect to put their looted assets into banks and even invest in businesses.

It is an irony that thieves who have stolen public money can lead a luxurious life in developed countries where the rule of law is supposed to be much more well-developed than in the developing countries they escape from.

It is a slap in the face for our flawed civilization in both the materialistic and spiritual sense.

The UN initiative known as StAr (Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative) is a step in the right direction to address the issue. If, as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says, this initiative can foster cooperation between developing and developed countries, a great progress will be expected in bringing corrupt officials to justice and recovering the assets they have stolen.

Cooperation from developed countries is essential in not only helping catch escaped corrupt officials and the return of their looted assets, but also deny a shelter for more corrupt officials and their looted proceeds.

(China Daily September 19, 2007)