VIENNA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Efforts to tackle corruption, especially the recovery of assets transferred abroad, face numerous challenges and require global cooperation, the chief of a leading anti-corruption organization has said.
Martin Kreutner, dean and executive secretary of the Austria-based International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), told Xinhua in a recent interview that despite the difficulties, he believed the international community still has much in common in fighting corruption.
The seventh session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) was held in Vienna earlier this month to discuss anti-corruption issues, in particular asset recovery.
The increasing number of members to the UNCAC shows that corruption and bribery in all their forms must be fought, Kreutner said. This creates a specific target and represents a way forward.
International asset recovery is one of the major issues on the agenda to combat global corruption. Kreutner called it a sensitive topic as often stolen assets are taken abroad. Some states are reluctant to return them, especially when there is no guarantee that the returned assets will not be appropriated once again by the vicious circle of corruption.
Kreutner attributed the current low rate of asset recovery due to it being a multilateral process that required patience in negotiations. First, charges have to be pursued to establish the assets were stolen and then the law has to be applied.
Currently, there is no single, commonly accepted mechanism to facilitate the procedure. However, the Vienna conference, he said, saw some progress, including the adoption of a resolution on the recovery of stolen assets.
Kreutner said fighting corruption was also about making sure that countries had proper laws. Cooperation and the establishment of proper mechanisms would see greater mutual legal assistance between countries, and cooperation in law enforcement and cracking down on transnational corruption cases.
Kreutner also said that besides sanctions against wrong doers, there should also be a system of rewards or incentives for those who follow the law.
Speaking specifically of China's efforts to crack down on corruption, Kreutner noted that much has been undertaken and achieved. "It is... pretty obvious that the government...and also the institutions mean business," he said
China is especially interested in having fugitives repatriated and brought to justice, he added.
Kreutner said there has been a noticeable increase in the number of Chinese students enrolling at his Laxenburg-based academy for its master's courses.
The IACA is also pursuing a formal cooperation agreement with some Chinese universities, which would include joint training activities that could be conducted in China too, Kreutner said.
