$1.6trn looted
yearly – Adoke
13
October 18, 2011
News
BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI &
AWA NNENNA
ABUJA—The Attorney-
General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice,
Mohammed Bello Adoke,
SAN, yesterday, said
investigation has revealed
that “the cross- border flow
of the global proceeds from
criminal activities, particularly
corruption and economic
crimes, is estimated to be
between USD 1 to 1.6 trillion
annually.”
The AGF, who said thisin a
keynote address at a
workshop on stolen asset
recovery and management
of the proceeds of crime,
organised by the Federal
Ministry of Justice in
collaboration with Justice for
All and the International
Centre for Asset Recovery, in
Abuja, yesterday, lamented
that half of the aforesaid fund
are looted from developing
and transition economies as
Nigeria.
He said: “Statistics further
reveal that USD 20 to 40
billion of this inflow originated
in bribes to public officials
from these countries. When
viewed against the report of
the commission for Africa to
the effect that ‘stolen assets
equivalent to more than half
of the continent’s external
debt are held in foreign bank
accounts’, it becomes
imperative for developing
countries that bear the brunt
of this capital flight to
vigorously pursue the
recovery of stolen assets.”
While identifying lack of
political will to recover stolen
assets as the bane of
successive administrations,
the AGF said there was no
doubt that the re-investment
of recovered assets in
development projects can
make a significant
contribution to the
improvement of the socio-
economic challenges in our
country.
He said: “The cross- border
flow of the global proceeds
from criminal activities
particularly corruption and
economic crimes, is
estimated to be between USD
1 to 1.6 trillion annually. Half
of this amount is looted from
developing and transition
economies. Statistics further
reveal that USD 20 to 40
billion of this inflow originated
in bribes to public officials
from these countries.”
“When viewed against the
report of the commission for
Africa to the effect that ‘stolen
assets equivalent to more
than half of the continent’s
external debt are held in
foreign bank accounts’, it
becomes imperative for
developing countries that
bear the brunt of this capital
flight to vigorously pursue
the recovery of stolen assets.
“It is however apposite to
state that the road to
successful recovery of stolen
assets is a long and tortuous
one.
“The process is not only
capital intensive, but
dependent on the acquisition
of the requisite technical
capacity complemented by
effective co-operation and
collaboration with other
countries, especially those
countries where such stolen
assets are hidden.
“Equally important is the
political will to pursue
recoveries by developing
countries. We cannot over
emphasize the need for
developing countries to hold
accountable, all those who
have frittered away their
national resources.
“In this regard, victim states
must rely solely on other
countries to initiate
proceedings that will
ultimately be of benefit to
them. You will agree that the
success of this endeavor
depends largely on
committed and transparent
leadership. This underlines
the resolve of President
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s
administration to tackle the
corruption and prevent
criminals from benefiting
from the proceeds of their
crimes.
“Closely related to the political
will to recover stolen assets is
the question of the judicious
use of such recovered assets
when it is eventually
returned. Many developed
countries have
understandably expressed
the fears that in the absence
of good governance and
accountability, asset recovery
efforts would come to
naught as recovered assets
will again be looted and
frittered away with
devastating consequences on
victim states.
“To engender confidence
therefore, requesting
countries must be ready to
put in place requisite
governance structures that
can guarantee accountability
in order to sustain the
support of the requested
countries.
“Until recently, these
structures were largely
absent in many victims
states, a situation which
prompted many requested
states to impose additional
requirements and conditions
before acceding to requests
for assistance in recovering
stolen assets.
“In addition, it would seem to
us that in accordance with
fairness and principles of
accountability the agencies
engaged in the investigation
of crimes and seizure of
assets should not also be
tasked with the function of
managing such assets, but
should concentrate on the
prosecution of the predicate
offences.
“Further more, given the
increasing financial burden
borne by the state in
financing law enforcement
initiatives particularly in the
investigation and prosecution
of economic crimes, there
may be need to consider, as
is the practice in many
jurisdictions, transparent
mechanisms for channeling a
proportion of proceeds from
recovered assets into an
asset confiscation fund
dedicated to initiatives that
have long and short term
benefits for law enforcement
and crime fighting.
“There is no doubt that the
re-investment of recovered
assets in development
projects can make a
significant contribution to the
improvement of the socio-
economic challenges in our
country”, he added.