Victim states seeking to recover the proceeds of corruption, or compensation for corrupt acts, may have a choice of mechanisms to do so:  criminal, civil and non-conviction forfeiture.   Each mechanism has advantages and disadvantages, and the “right” route for a particular case depends on the circumstances.   Flexibility is key, and any substantial programme is likely to deploy all of the available mechanisms.  Indeed, many successful individual cases have used two or more mechanisms to maximise recoveries.

Cooley’s briefing, “Recovering the proceeds of corruption: how states can recover stolen assets” outlines and discusses the recovery options, and the factors that a state should consider when choosing between them.  It is available here.

Posted by James Maton

James is a commercial litigator advising companies and Governments on a wide range of complex contractual and commercial disputes. That work includes litigation, international arbitration under a variety of rules and considerable experience of managing multi-jurisdictional disputes. He also advises Governments seeking to trace, freeze and recover the corruptly acquired assets of dishonest public officials. That experience includes civil proceedings to recover the proceeds of corruption, enforcing foreign confiscation orders, advising on requests for mutual legal assistance in criminal proceedings and using insolvency remedies to recover assets. He speaks regularly about asset recovery at international anti-corruption conferences organised by international donors, and has provided significant pro­-bono support to anti-corruption NGOs.

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