Table Of ContentADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
ASSET
RECOVERY AND
MUTUAL LEGAL
ASSISTANCE
IN ASIA AND
THE PACIFIC
Proceedings of the 6th Regional Seminar on
Making International Anti-Corruption Standards Operational
Held in Bali, Indonesia, on 5–7 September 2007 and hosted by the
Corruption Eradication Commission, Indonesia
Asian Development Bank
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
in cooperation with the Basel Institute on Governance
Publications of the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
– Fighting Bribery in Public Procurement in Asia and the Pacific. Paris: ADB/OECD, 2008.
– Supporting the Fight Against Corruption in Asia and the Pacific: ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative
2007 Annual Report. Paris: ADB/OECD, 2008.
– Managing Conflict of Interest: Frameworks, Tools, and Instruments for Preventing, Detecting, and
Managing Conflict of Interest. Manila: ADB/OECD, 2008.
– Mutual Legal Assistance, Extradition, and Recovery of Proceeds of Corruption in Asia and the Pacific:
Frameworks and Practices in 27 Asian and Pacific Jurisdictions. Paris: ADB/OECD, 2008.
– Curbing Corruption in Public Procurement in Asia and the Pacific: Progress and Challenges in 25
Countries. Manila: ADB/OECD, 2006.
– Denying Safe Haven to the Corrupt and the Proceeds of Corruption: Enhancing Asia-Pacific
Cooperation on Mutual Legal Assistance, Extradition, and Return of the Proceeds of Corruption.
Proceedings of the 4th Master Training Seminar held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 2006. Manila:
ADB/OECD, 2006.
– Knowledge-Commitment-Action against Corruption in Asia and the Pacific. Proceedings of the 5th
Regional Anti-Corruption Conference held in Beijing, People‘s Republic of China, in September 2005.
Manila: ADB/OECD, 2006.
– Anti-Corruption Policies in Asia and the Pacific: Progress in Legal and Institutional Reform in 25
Countries. Manila: ADB/OECD, 2006.
– Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Asia and the Pacific with country endorsing statements. Manila:
ADB/OECD, 2002 (reprinted 2005).
– Curbing Corruption in Tsunami Relief Operations. Manila: ADB/OECD/TI, 2005 (available in English,
Bahasa, Sinhala, and Tamil languages).
– Controlling Corruption in Asia and the Pacific. Proceedings of the 4th Regional Anti-Corruption
Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December 2003. Manila: ADB/OECD, 2005.
– Anti-Corruption Policies in Asia and the Pacific: The Legal and Institutional Frameworks. Manila:
ADB/OECD, 2004.
– Effective Prosecution of Corruption. Manila: ADB/OECD, 2003.
– Taking Action against Corruption in Asia and the Pacific. Proceedings of the 3rd Regional Anti-
Corruption Conference held in Tokyo, Japan, in 2001. Manila: ADB/OECD, 2002.
– Progress in the Fight against Corruption in Asia and the Pacific. Proceedings of the 2nd Regional Anti-
Corruption Conference held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in 2000. Manila: ADB/OECD, 2001.
– Combating Corruption in Asia and the Pacific. Proceedings of the Manila workshop held in 1999.
Manila: ADB/OECD, 2000.
You can download these documents from the Initiative‘s website at
www.oecd.org/corruption/asiapacific/publications or request copies by writing to
[email protected]
2008 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Asian Development Bank
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-92-64-05572-8
This publication was prepared by the Secretariat of the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and
the Pacific, composed of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) staff. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in it do not
necessarily represent the views of ADB, or those of its member governments, or of the OECD, or its
member countries. ADB and OECD do not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this
publication and accept no responsibility whatsoever for any consequences of their use. The term
―country‖ does not imply any judgment by ADB or the OECD as to the legal or other status of any
territorial entity.
ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
Table of Contents
Foreword ........................................................................................................... 7
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................ 9
Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................ 11
Preface by Taufiequrachman Ruki ................................................................ 13
Preface by Kuniko Ozaki ................................................................................ 15
Executive Summary ......................................................................................... 17
Keynote Addresses .......................................................................................... 23
Opening Remarks by Patrick Moulette ....................................................... 25
Opening Remarks by Kuniko Ozaki .............................................................. 29
Opening Remarks by Amien Sunaryadi ...................................................... 33
Chapter 1 Legal and Institutional Challenges in Mutual Legal
Assistance ...................................................................................... 37
Challenges in Mutual Legal Assistance (Marita van Thiel) ...................... 39
Trends in Mutual Legal Assistance and Asset Recovery in Asia
and the Pacific (William Y.W. Loo) ............................................................... 43
Provisions of the United Nations Convention against Corruption
on Asset Recovery and Mutual Legal Assistance from the
Indonesian Law Perspective (Romli Atmasasmita) ................................... 49
Improving Procedures for Mutual Assistance and Mutual Legal
Assistance in Investigations of Transnational Corruption
(Martin Polaine)................................................................................................ 59
Principles of Extradition and Jurisdiction (Arvinder Sambei) ................... 67
Chapter 2 Formal and Informal Paths to Obtain International Legal
Assistance ...................................................................................... 87
Formal and Informal Paths to Obtain International Legal
Assistance (Bernard Rabatel) ........................................................................ 89
ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
4 Asset Recovery and Mutual Legal Assistance
International Cooperation in Criminal Matters in Thailand
(Torsak Buranaruangroj) ................................................................................. 93
Combining Formal and Informal Mechanisms: Ways for Speeding
up Mutual Legal Assistance (Jean-Bernard Schmid) ................................ 99
Chapter 3 Tracing, Freezing, Confiscating, and Repatriating the
Proceeds of Corruption .............................................................. 107
Tracing, Freezing, Confiscating the Proceeds of Corruption in
Australia (Sylvia Grono) ................................................................................ 109
Tracing, Freezing, Confiscating, and Repatriating the Proceeds
of Corruption (Alan Bacarese) .................................................................... 121
Challenges and Opportunities of Asset Recovery in a
Developing Economy (Nuhu Ribadu) ....................................................... 127
Chapter 4 Seizure, Confiscation, and Repatriation of Assets:
Practices in Financial Centers ................................................... 135
Fight against Corruption and Restitution of Illicitly Acquired
Assets: Switzerland‘s Practice in Dealing with Politically Exposed
Persons (Pascal Gossin) ................................................................................ 137
Seizure, Confiscation and Repatriation Assets: Practice in Hong
Kong, China (Wayne Walsh) ....................................................................... 143
Chapter 5 Case Study «Ferdinand Marcos» (Philippines) ......................... 161
Ferdinand E. Marcos (Philippines): A Case Study
(Merceditas Gutierrez) .................................................................................. 163
Chapter 6 Case Study «Sani Abacha» (Nigeria) ....................................... 171
General Sani Abacha—A Nation‘s Thief (Tim Daniel) ............................ 173
Chapter 7 Case Study «Vladimiro Montesinos» (Peru) .............................. 187
The Peruvian Efforts to Recover Proceeds from Montesinos‘s
Criminal Network of Corruption (Guillermo Jorge) ................................. 189
Corruption and Criminal Organization: Peru‘s Experience
(Luis Vargas Valdivia) .................................................................................... 223
Chapter 8 Asset Recovery—Needs and Priorities in Asia and the
Pacific ........................................................................................... 233
Legal Obstacles to Effective Law Enforcement in Corruption
Cases (Yoseph Suardi Sabda)..................................................................... 235
ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
Table of contents 5
The Status Quo and Challenges the People‘s Republic of China
Faces in Developing International Cooperation on Asset
Recovery (Guo Mingcong) ......................................................................... 245
Implementing the United Nations Convention against Corruption—
Making Technical Assistance Work: the German UNCAC Project
(Dedo Geinitz) ................................................................................................ 251
The Role of Donors (Cornelis D. de Jong) ................................................. 261
Closing Remarks: Building Trust and Developing Capacity to
Strengthen the Implementation of the United Nations
Convention against Corruption (Dimitri Vlassis) ....................................... 267
Appendixes .................................................................................................... 271
List of Participants .......................................................................................... 273
Seminar agenda ............................................................................................ 289
ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
Secretariat Contacts ................................................................... 299
ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
Foreword
Since its inception in 1999, the Asian Development Bank/Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (ADB/OECD) Anti-Corruption Initiative
for Asia and the Pacific supports its members in strengthening their policies,
frameworks, and practices to fight corruption. Driven by the demand and
priorities of its members, the Initiative fosters regional policy dialogue and analysis
and helps in building capacity through regional technical seminars.
Obtaining legal assistance for investigations and prosecutions of
corruption cases from other countries has been identified in the Asia and Pacific
region and beyond as one biggest obstacle to effectively fight corruption.
Mutual legal assistance (MLA) is also essential for the recovery of proceeds of
corruption.
Since early 2005, the member countries and jurisdictions of the ADB/OECD
Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific have held regular policy
dialogues and expert meetings to strengthen their frameworks and practices for
requesting and providing legal assistance. The 5th Regional Anti-Corruption
Conference for Asia-Pacific in September 2005 included a workshop to this topic,
and a technical seminar on Denying Safe Haven to the Corrupt and the
Proceeds of Corruption was held in March 2006. In 2006/2007, the Initiative‘s
members carried out an in-depth review on frameworks and practices for mutual
legal assistance, extradition, and the recovery of proceeds of corruption.
International anti-corruption instruments, such as the United Nations
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the OECD anti-bribery instruments,
attach great importance to effective mechanisms for mutual legal assistance
(MLA) and asset recovery. As a growing number of countries in Asia and the
Pacific have committed to these standards, demand for mutual learning in this
area increases. The Initiative‘s members naturally called on the Initiative and its
partners—the Basel Institute on Governance and the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime—to provide this assistance. In response to this request, the Initiative
conducted a regional technical seminar on asset recovery and MLA.
Hosted and co-organized by the Corruption Eradication Commission of
Indonesia, this regional technical seminar gathered more than 150 experts from
the Initiative‘s member countries, observer countries, and OECD member
countries in Bali on 5–7 September 2007. This volume compiles the experience
shared by experts during the seminar. It is addressed to policy makers,
ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
8 Asset Recovery and Mutual Legal Assistance
practitioners, and experts who wish to learn from experiences of other countries
in strengthening frameworks and practices for mutual legal assistance and the
recovery of assets from abroad.
ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
Acknowledgments
The Asian Development Bank/Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (ADB/OECD) Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
and the Basel Institute on Governance express their sincere gratitude to the
Corruption Eradication Commission of Indonesia for its valuable cooperation and
help in preparing for the regional seminar for Asia and the Pacific on asset
recovery and mutual legal assistance. The ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative
and the Basel Institute on Governance hold in high esteem the commission‘s
warm welcome and gracious hospitality.
The organizers specially thank the participants of the seminar, particularly
the speakers and authors of the papers in this volume. Their insights and
contributions have made the seminar greatly successful in promoting knowledge
and information sharing on issues of asset recovery and mutual legal assistance.
Frédéric Wehrlé, then Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific at the OECD
Anti-Corruption Division; Kathleen Moktan, Director of the Capacity
Development and Governance Division, ADB, and Gretta Fenner, then Director
of the Basel Institute on Governance; directed and coordinated the seminar.
Joachim Pohl, Project Coordinator of the OECD Anti-Corruption Division; Marilyn
Pizarro, Consultant with the Capacity Development and Governance Division of
ADB‘s Regional and Sustainable Development Department; and Mirella
Mahlstein, Research Assistant for the Basel Institute on Governance provided
coordination and secretariat assistance.
The regional seminar for Asia and the Pacific was made possible through
the financial support of the Australian Agency for International Development
(AusAID), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GtZ) GmbH, Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC), as well as the United States Department of State.
ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific
