News & Research

Innovative, evidence-based research is the backbone of asset recovery reform. We empower civil society with country assessments, global policy analysis, and the strategic tools necessary to drive transparency and accountability in global asset recovery efforts.

Global South Forum on Asset Recovery, Nairobi

The first Global South Forum on Asset Recovery (GSF) is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya on 7-9 November. The Global South Forum is organised by the Civil Forum for Asset Recovery (CiFAR) and it is a first-of its-kind civil society-led meeting aimed at discussing current issues, challenges and opportunities presented by ongoing cases of asset recovery with a focus on the perspective of civil society from the Global South.

Asset Recovery in Kenya: Overview and Explainer

The Kenyan government has been engaged in more recent years in cross-border asset freezing, confiscation, and return of the proceeds of corruption. Nevertheless, it is not lost on many that to a large extent, international cases have begun due to the proactivity of the countries holding stolen Kenyan assets. An example of this is the return of USD 349,057 following the successful case against in the UK against the company Smith & Ouzman for bribery, for which no convictions have yet been handed down in Kenya.

Best Practices and Challenges in the Management of Recovered Assets

With this manual, civil society organisations interested in starting work in the asset recovery field or strengthening current work will find concrete tips and ideas identified from interviews generously provided by CSO rThis report aims to fill evidence gaps by analysing approaches and strategies to the management of domestically and internationally recovered assets as a frequently overlooked and underestimated stage asset recovery.

EU Sanctions Proposals: what do they mean and what to look out for

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday the development of a Directive on criminal penalties for the violation of Union law on restrictive measures and for new measures to be introduced under their planned Directive on asset recovery and confiscation. Under the new proposals, new EU-wide rules would come into force that cover several aspects related not only to the sanctions implemented with respect to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also more generally to other sanctions regimes and to asset recovery more generally.

Asset Recovery and Victims of Grand Corruption

The loss of public assets to corruption has a significant impact on countries and their populations. Public programmes, such is infrastructure development and social welfare are deprived of their intended impact due to the loss of funding to corruption, which harms the people who rely on these resources for their well-being. Brought on by work of civil society organisations (CSOs), legislatures, and international organisations, there is a growing effort to prioritize victims in the asset recovery process. Our new paper details these developments.