Thought Leadership

Managing Seized and Confiscated Assets: A Guide for Practitioners

Author
Thomas Abernathy
SVP - Government Relations

This month, the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (STAR) from The World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released invaluable advice for practitioners navigating the complex world of seized asset recovery.

Managing Seized and Confiscated Assets: A Guide for Practitioners was co-authored by Asset Reality's SVP of Government Relations, Thomas J. Abernathy alongside Lisa Bostwick, Nigel Bartlett and Hermione Cronje.

It's key recommendations include:

  • Enforcing confiscation orders
  • Establishing a dedicated asset management function
  • Including pre-seizure planning in the asset forfeiture legislative framework
  • Developing relationships with dependable private-sector contractors
  • Allocating confiscated assets for social reuse 

These recommendations are now THE essential guide for years to come, emphasising the need to make seized asset management simpler, more effective, and more impactful.

Despite the scale of the challenge, since 2010, more than US$10 billion has been frozen, restrained, confiscated or returned to countries affected by corruption. These funds are only a fraction of the total value stolen and extracted from countries around the world, their return has a material positive impact on society.

Asset Reality will continue to support STAR’s mission to eliminate the profit incentive for criminal activity and deter future offences.

Read the full report:

https://star.worldbank.org/publications/managing-seized-and-confiscated-assets-guide-practitioners

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