News

A new era for regional asset recovery efforts in Africa?

From 15–17 April, on behalf of the CAPAR Civil Society Network, CiFAR attended the first African Asset Recovery Practitioners Forum in Nairobi. Over 90 delegates from across all African regions — including asset recovery and anti-corruption agencies, financial intelligence units, and other public bodies — gathered to discuss ways to enhance collaboration on asset recovery and to formalize the establishment and governance of the Forum.

How Asset Recovery Promotes Transparency and Good Governance in Africa

Since 2022, CiFAR has been supporting civil society organizations across Africa to champion a new initiative under the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR). The continent-wide CAPAR CSO network is driving transformative efforts to recover stolen assets, strengthen good governance, and ensure transparency in Africa, grounded in CAPAR's four key pillars: (1) detection and identification of stolen assets, (2) recovery and return of assets, (3) management of recovered assets, and (4) strengthening cooperation and partnerships.

Anti-corruption sanctions in numbers – looking back at 2024

2024 has seen an acceleration of targeted anti-corruption listings, with 32 new individuals being sanctioned, proving once again the use of targeted sanctions as a powerful diplomatic and anti-corruption tool. As CiFAR launches its updated Sanctions Watch platform today, which tracks individuals sanctioned for reasons related to corruption, this blog takes stock of the changed listings across key anti-corruption sanctions regimes in 2024.

Why Kenya Needs a National Asset Recovery Policy

Kenya has made significant strides in combating economic crime, particularly in asset recovery through institutions like the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), supported by other law enforcement agencies. These efforts are anchored in legal frameworks such as the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA),2003 and the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA),2009 as well as regulations like the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering (Criminal Assets Recovery Fund) Regulations, 2023.

Returning ill gotten gains to Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, while rich in natural resources, is plagued by the corruption and embezzling of its national treasury by the Obiang family. In France, the Biens mal acquis (Ill-gotten gains) case was a first of its kind proceedings, with legal action brought against a current, high ranking official, and which saw the confiscation and seizure of amassed luxury assets from the Equatoguinean Vice President. The case began due to the efforts of anti-corruption organisations, Transparency International France and Sherpa, who accused Obiang of embezzling state funds to buy luxury assets in France.