Remarks at the conference on New Strategic Directions In Controlling Corruption: The Recovery of Stolen Assets

Welcoming Remarks
NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS IN CONTROLLING CORRUPTION:
THE RECOVERY OF STOLEN ASSETS
Ian Porter, World Bank Country Director
Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Malaysia
March 10, 2008

His Excellency Sompong Amornvivat
Mr. Akira Fujino, Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice Assoc. Prof.  Thongthong Chandransu

It is a pleasure to join his Excellency Sompong Amornvivat and my colleague Akira Fujino of the UNODC in welcoming delegates to this seminar on asset recovery.  We are pleased that so many participants from so many East Asian countries are able to be with us in Bangkok to learn about this important and timely subject.

This seminar is part of the World Bank-UNODC’s Stolen Asset Recovery, or StAR initiative. The StAR initiative aims to ensure, in the words of World Bank President Robert Zoellick, that “There is no safe haven for those who steal from the poor.” 

As he explained at last September’ launch of the program, “Helping developing countries recover the stolen money will be key to fund social programs and put corrupt leaders on notice that they will not escape the law.”

A background report compiled by the Bank and UNODC shows just how serious the stolen asset problem is.  It reports that cross-border flows of the global proceeds from criminal activities, corruption, and tax evasion range anywhere from $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion per year.

Imagine what could be done with that money.  If even a portion could be recovered, it would provide much-needed funding for social programs or badly needed infrastructure.

Every $100 million recovered could fund full immunizations for 4 million children, provide water connections for some 250,000 households, or fund treatment for over 600,000 people with HIV/AIDS for a full year.

The StAR Initiative begins from the premise that both developed and developing countries must work in partnership. Developing countries need to improve governance to stop the flow of money out.  More developed nations must stop the inflow illegal money by cracking down on money laundering and related financial crimes.

The first step is for all nations to ratify the UN Convention against Corruption, which provides the framework for controlling illicit flows.  Only half the OECD nations and four of the G-8 countries are parties. A week ago Friday at a meeting of the StAR Advisory Group, President Zoellick promised to redouble the Bank’s efforts to encourage other countries to ratify the Convention. 

East Asian nations must also do better.  While pleased that the People’s Republic of China, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have all ratified the convention, and Thailand is close to doing so, this is not enough.  We also want to encourage the governments of the Lao People’s Republic, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam to join their neighbors in ratifying the convention.
Beyond urging all nations to ratify UN Convention against Corruption, the StAR Initiative will:

• Build institutional capacity in developing countries for requesting technical assistance to strengthen their prosecuting agencies and bring their laws to be in compliance with the Convention;
• Strengthen the integrity of financial markets. This will include urging that financial centers into compliance with anti-money laundering legislation that would detect and deter laundering of illicit proceeds and also strengthen the capacity of financial intelligence units around the world to enhance cooperation between them;
• Assist the asset recovery process of developing countries by providing those countries with loans or grants to finance the start up costs, provide advice on hiring legal counsel, and facilitate cooperation between countries;
• Monitor the use of recovered assets so that repatriated funds are used for development purposes, such as social programs, better education and infrastructure.

The World Bank has had a long and productive involvement with the nations of East Asia.  Two of the key lessons that emerge from that involvement are 1) the need for the countries of the region to forge ever closer ties on trade and finance, and 2) the overriding importance of combating corruption. 

We know that both are essential if the prosperity that some in the region enjoy is to be spread to those who are still waiting for the day when the East Asian miracle touches their lives.  By bringing these two themes together in this seminar, the Bank and UNODC hope to speed the coming of that day.   

Thank you.