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Holding the corrupt to account: the promise and potential of corruption sanctions

When states fail to hold corrupt actors to account, ordinary citizens pay the price. Corruption sanctions were born from the idea that no one should be above the law, no matter where they are in the world. In a new Working Paper, Dr Anton Moiseienko explores how these tools have evolved and offers recommendations for their more effective and legitimate use.

Here we share the foreword to his paper by the Basel Institute's Andrew Dornbierer, Head of Policy and Research, International Centre for Asset Recovery.

Publication

Quick Guide 43: Corruption sanctions

How can governments respond to serious corruption when those responsible are beyond the reach of the law?

Weak institutions, political protection or limited law enforcement capacity can make it difficult to investigate or prosecute powerful individuals suspected of corruption. In response, some governments have turned to corruption sanctions.

Corruption sanctions allow governments to impose restrictions on people suspected of serious corruption even without a criminal conviction.

Publication

Working Paper 62: Corruption sanctions: What governments need to know

How can governments respond to serious corruption when those responsible are beyond the reach of the law? Some governments have turned to corruption sanctions to address this issue.

This Working Paper examines how corruption sanctions – tools that allow governments to impose asset freezes and travel bans on individuals suspected of corruption without any finding of guilt in a court – have evolved over the past decade, and offers recommendations for their more effective and legitimate use.

Publication

Working Paper 49: Dirty deals – Case studies on corruption in waste management and trade

Waste management is a huge industry at the local, national and international levels. Public services play a key role in dealing especially with waste generated by households. Getting waste management right is essential if we are to achieve a circular economy and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Complex legal frameworks and their weak implementation open up spaces for criminals to profit from illegally managing or trading in waste. The consequences on the environment and human health can be severe. The role of corruption in crimes involving waste is unexplored.

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Working Paper sheds fresh light on the sanctions and confiscation debate

As the war in Ukraine intensifies, calls are growing for states to confiscate Russian assets frozen under sanctions and redirect them to provide support to Ukraine. Our latest Working Paper argues that states can and should do this by enhancing the effectiveness and scope of established asset recovery measures​​​​ – not by introducing new untested mechanisms that risk inviting future legal challenges, defeating the purpose of sanctions and violating the rule of law. 

Publication

Working Paper 42: From sanctions to confiscation while upholding the rule of law

Written in the light of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, this Working Paper explores whether it is justifiable to confiscate assets frozen under financial sanctions in order to redirect them to the victims of state aggression. 

The paper first explores the concept of sanctions and financial sanctions (asset freezes) and what they mean in practice.

Publication

Working Paper 41: Targeting unexplained wealth in British Columbia

The final recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia (‘the Commission’) urged the government to legislate an unexplained wealth order (‘UWO’) as part of a wider approach to counter the prevalence of money laundering and proceeds of crime in the province.

This document analyses the feasibility of this recommendation. It:

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Quebec Construction Association's Integrity Program: a tool for re-establishing trust through Collective Action

In Québec, construction is a major industry, with investments in 2014 of nearly $48 billion (CAN$), or 13% of the province’s GDP.  Québec construction association (Association de la construction du Québec or ACQ) represents more than 60% of the province’s builders. But Canada’s second largest province has been through a major crisis of confidence after investigative journalists uncovered  corruption and collusion in public construction contracts.  This led authorities to launch a public Inquiry in 2011.

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