The Despot's Guide to Wealth Management: On the International Campaign against Grand Corruption
J. C. Sharman
Abstract
An unprecedented new international moral and legal rule forbids one state from hosting money stolen by the leaders of another state. The aim is to counter grand corruption or kleptocracy (“rule by thieves”), when leaders of poorer countries loot billions of dollars at the expense of their own citizens. This money tends to end up hosted in rich countries. These host states now have a duty to block, trace, freeze, and seize these illicit funds and hand them back to the countries from which they were stolen. This book asks how this anti-kleptocracy regime came about, how well it is working, and h ... More
An unprecedented new international moral and legal rule forbids one state from hosting money stolen by the leaders of another state. The aim is to counter grand corruption or kleptocracy (“rule by thieves”), when leaders of poorer countries loot billions of dollars at the expense of their own citizens. This money tends to end up hosted in rich countries. These host states now have a duty to block, trace, freeze, and seize these illicit funds and hand them back to the countries from which they were stolen. This book asks how this anti-kleptocracy regime came about, how well it is working, and how it could work better. Although there have been some real achievements, the international campaign against grand corruption has run into major obstacles. The vested interests of banks, lawyers, and even law enforcement often favor turning a blind eye to foreign corruption proceeds. Recovering and returning looted assets is a long, complicated, and expensive process. The book calls for better policing, preventative measures, and use of gatekeepers like bankers, lawyers, and real estate agents. It also recommends giving nongovernmental organizations and for-profit firms more scope to independently investigate corruption and seize stolen assets.
Keywords:
grand corruption,
kleptocracy,
illicit funds,
anti-kleptocracy,
law enforcement,
foreign corruption,
corruption,
stolen assets,
bankers,
lawyers
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2017 |
Print ISBN-13: 9781501705519 |
| Published to Cornell Scholarship Online: September 2017 |
DOI:10.7591/cornell/9781501705519.001.0001 |
