Resource sharing central to combating corruption

A top security official called for developed economies to increase technical assistance and intelligence sharing with developing economies to deal with cross-border corruption cases.

Speaking at an annual meeting of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities, Meng Jianzhu, head of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said those forms of cooperation are needed to effectively fight corruption.

Eliminating cross-border corruption is extremely difficult because of differences in economic development, and political and legal systems, as well as historical and cultural backgrounds, he said.

Developing economies face greater challenges, Cao Jianming, chief prosecutor of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, said at the meeting. “Some of them cannot cope with rampant corruption due to their poor economy and limited investigation techniques,” he said.

Thus, strengthening developing countries’ capacity for combating and preventing corruption is a key to a more balanced international anti-corruption effort, Cao said.

Meng from the CPC’s Political and Legislative Affairs Committee said it is particularly important to increase technical assistance and technology transfers to developing economies.

According to Meng, as much assistance as possible — in the form of funding and materials — should be provided to developing economies.

Meng also said more training programs and equipment should be provided, along with help in improving anti-corruption strategies and the development of capabilities to against criminal corruption.

All parties should act upon the United Nations Convention against Corruption to strengthen the collection, exchange and analysis of anti-corruption materials, he said.

“We need to share statistics and analytical knowledge and materials from international and regional organizations, share experiences of successfully preventing and prosecuting corruption, and jointly analyze the features and development trends of corruption and the environment that causes such crimes,” Meng said.

Dimitri Vlassis, representative of the UN secretary-general and chief of the organization’s corruption and economic crime branch, said, “With the ongoing economic and informational globalization of society, corruption tends to be complex, hidden, as well as increasingly organized and transnational.”

Technical assistance and information exchanges — an important part of international anti-corruption cooperation — are called for in preventing and punishing cross-border and transnational corruption, he said.

Chulasingh Vasantasingh, attorney general of Thailand, said advances in technology and communications have been exploited and allow ill-gotten proceeds to be concealed far from the source.

“It’s extremely difficult for the authorities to detect and pursue with regard to criminal proceedings and asset recovery,” he said.

“Technical assistance and information exchange between parties of the Convention is therefore absolutely essential for all involved.”