ISLAMABAD: The Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (Star) is a “partnership between the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).” On December 9, 2003, Pakistan signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption (the same was ratified on August 31, 2007). Under Article 23, “Each State Party shall adopt, in accordance with fundamental principles of its domestic law, such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences, when committed intentionally: (a) The conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is the proceeds of crime, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of helping any person who is involved in the commission of the predicate offence to evade the legal consequences of his or her action.” The Star Initiative “works with developing countries and financial centres to prevent the laundering of the proceeds of corruption and to facilitate more systematic and timely return of stolen assets.” Star offers practical advice on the “strategy and management of asset recovery efforts.” Star “provides a platform for dialogue and collaboration on specific cases.” Star “acts as a facilitator in bringing together different jurisdictions involved in asset recovery.” According to Star, “corruption has a devastating impact on developing and transition countries with estimates of $20 billion to $40 billion per year stolen by public officials.” Star “combines policy recommendations and good practices aimed at making it harder for corrupt politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) to launder their money and make it easier to get stolen assets back.” Star has so far settled a total of 397 cases in at least 15 different jurisdictions, including the United States, Germany, Untied Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Lesotho, Costa Rica, Greece and Kazakhstan. In 2003, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project case was settled whereby bribes paid to government officials were returned to the landlocked Lesotho. In 2010, the Bonny Island Liquefied Natural Gas Bribe Scheme case was settled whereby $32.5 million was returned to Nigeria. In 2010, the Alcatel-Lucent case was settled whereby $10 million were returned to the Government of Costa Rica. The “settlement marked the first time in Costa Rica’s history that a foreign corporation agreed to pay the government damages for corruption.” Additionally, “Alcatel-Lucent and three subsidiaries agreed to pay $92 million to resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation.” On March 17, 2015, Switzerland agreed to “return to Nigeria some $380 million allegedly looted by ex-President Sani Abacha.” According to the BBC, “the transfer, to be conducted under the supervision of the World Bank, will end a 16-year case against the Abacha family. Switzerland has already returned $700 million, following appeals from Nigeria. Abacha ruled the oil-rich West African state from 1993 until his death in 1998.” Anatole France, the French poet, novelist and journalist, said, “People who have weaknesses are terrible; there is no way of taking advantage of them.”
