OECD anti-corruption enforcement facilitation – Ukraine, Estonia and France
This article from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides a good review of complex cross-border anti-corruption enforcement activities and the uses of OECD. In 2021, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and its Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) launched an investigation into a potential large-scale embezzlement by a former CEO of a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise. Additionally, as the investigation unfolded, there was evidence that led to actors in Estonia and France and which included elements of money laundering. Th described “how opportunities offered by the OECD anti-corruption law enforcement networks benefit the global law enforcement community in the fight against corruption. The networks, which include the Global Law Enforcement Network (GLEN), the Law Enforcement Officials (LEO) group of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (WGB) and regional networks in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean, regularly bring together investigators and prosecutors handling transnational corruption cases.” Additionally, it also included the use of a plea bargain, allowing for cross-border cooperation, providing information to all governments.
Why is this important and what should be done? This type of cooperation is essential during this time when some cooperation has been weakened or fundamentally dismantled. The OECD active support and publicity around the work is essential to highlight positive work by anti-corruption agencies and enforcement by these governments. Additionally, the more innovative approaches to enforcement is also a very constructive outcome, bringing together enforcement, communication and uses of plea bargains, which is all very educational for all OECD members.
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