Maravi

World Bank to help recover stolen assets

World Bank to help recover stolen assets
By Joe Kaunda
Thursday April 19, 2007 [04:01]

The World Bank has unveiled an initiative to help developing countries recover assets stolen by corrupt leaders as part of the institution's Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy. Making the announcement on Sunday, World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz said the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) initiative that would be immediately effected had been given a go-ahead after discussions with country delegates and representatives of international organisations at the just ended Spring meetings.

"We at the World Bank, in partnership with the international community, want to help developing countries recover assets that have been stolen by former corrupt leaders," said World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. "This is a moral obligation. Recovering even a portion of the stolen assets will help fund development and social programs, or badly-needed infrastructure."

The StAR initiative discussions took place as a side event of Spring Meetings of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The initiative was also welcomed by the British secretary of state and international development, Hilary Benn who pleged his government's support.

"The recovery of stolen assets is a practical problem. This initiative is really timely. It's about each of us playing our part," said Benn.

According to the World Bank, cross-border flow of proceeds from criminal activity, corruption and tax evasion is estimated at between one and $1.6 trillion per year --half of this from developing and transition economies.

"Corrupt money associated with bribes received by public officials from developing and transition countries is estimated at $20-40 billion. While estimates of such monies are known to be imprecise, they give an idea of the large dimensions of the problem, warranting concerted action," the World Bank stated in its statement announcing the initiative.

Former Nigeria's finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who played a large part in the recovery of US $500 million of Nigeria 's assets stolen by the dictator Sani Abacha also supported the initiative.

"The challenge is immense given the complexity and the international dimension of the problem. We will be successful only if solid partnerships are formed with developing and developed countries, and other bilateral and multilateral agencies," she said.

The World Bank is pursuing the StAR Initiative jointly with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The Bank and UNODC will forge partnerships with other agencies, such as the regional development banks, the IMF, OECD, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the G8, Switzerland, and developing countries, to ensure this is a truly global effort.

Labels: CORRUPTION, IMF, StAR, World Bank

posted by MrK @ 3:39 AM