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)
