afrol News, 9 December - In the 1990s, corrupt officials in Nigeria looted and exported at least US$ 2.2 billion, and embezzled US$ 5.5 billion. Similarly, it is estimated that over US$ 3 billion has been lost to corruption in Kenya. These stolen funds are now to be recovered by a new international initiative launched today.

Today marks the first anniversary of the signing of the UN Convention against Corruption and the commemoration of the world's first International Anti-Corruption Day.

The UN's Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), also responsible for the follow-up of the anti-corruption convention, today announced the launching of a new initiative "aimed at assisting the governments of Kenya and Nigeria to recover assets stolen by corrupt officials."

Corruption and the transfer of illicit funds have been a major factor in the flight of capital from Africa, with more than US$ 400 billion having been stolen and hidden in foreign countries and around US$ 100 billion of the total to have come from Nigeria alone, UNODC has estimated.

Speaking at a press briefing in Vienna, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said, "The recovery of stolen assets is one of the most promising and concrete aspects of the fight against corruption."

Mr Costa continued, "Even before the Convention enters into force, it allows us to help countries to retrieve monies plundered from their national treasuries. These nations urgently need funds for development."

Also attending the Vienna press briefing were Ambassador Julius Kiplagat Kandie, Kenya, and Ambassador Biodun Owoseni, Nigeria, both Permanent Representatives to the UN's offices in Vienna. The ambassadors welcomed the initiative by UNODC.

The UN agency says it will conduct "in-depth assessments of the institutional and legal frameworks that presently exist in Nigeria and Kenya, and recommend all necessary measures designed to overcome obstacles to asset recovery."

Asset recovery under the UN's Convention against Corruption represents a major breakthrough, the agency said. "It establishes the return of assets as a 'fundamental principle', and mandates that member states afford one another the widest measure of assistance."

Another advantage of the Convention against Corruption was said to be its global nature. "Because the instrument is universal in scope, it also offers states the means to follow the money trail, to seize and freeze illicit funds, and to return stolen or embezzled funds to their rightful owners, even when the money has been transported across international borders."

To date, the UN's Convention against Corruption has been signed by 114 Member States and ratified by 13. The Convention will enter into force once it has been ratified by 30 countries. UNODC offers technical assistance for upgrading national legal systems.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories