Getting the measure of asset recovery

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The OECD this week released a report measuring how its member countries are performing in their efforts to stem illicit financial flows (IFF). While much attention is likely to focus on the chapters discussing money laundering, tax evasion and bribery -- the main sources of illicit financial flows -- the report features an important discussion of the other side of the equation: how are OECD countries performing in returning illicit financial flows?

Thanks to the efforts of the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR), there is data available on the recovery of illicit flows from bribery and corruption. The OECD report previews some of this information, showing that OECD countries have improved their results in terms of freezing assets (increasing from US$1.225 billion in 2006-2009, toUS$1.398 in the shorter period of 2010-June 2012). At the same time the figures demonstrate that there has been little progress on asset returns(from US$276 million in 2006-2009, to US$147 million in 2010-June 2012). Most of the activity in both periods has been in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States -- countries that have made asset recovery a political priority and that have adopted innovative approaches to overcome the barriers involved in the process.