‘Realistic, procedural challenges hit recovery of embezzled funds’

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KUWAIT CITY, July 25: The Public Anti- Corruption Authority “Nazaha” held a symposium and a workshop, in cooperation with the Kuwait Society for the Defense of Public Funds, under the title “Investigating the Recovery of Stolen Funds” at its headquarters in Shamiya, reports Al-Rai daily. Speakers at the symposium stressed that there are still realistic and procedural challenges, calling on civil society institutions to cooperate.

“In these workshops, we recall with courage and pride our participation with civil society institutions, and we communicated with them and explained everything new in the investigation procedures to recover looted funds and combat corruption,” said the Acting Secretary-General of the Commission, Dr. Muhammad Buzbar, reports a local Arabic daily. Buzbar indicated Nazaha is one of the monitoring tributaries concerned with combating corruption, through various mechanisms (legislative, (informal) executive and what it called the proposed mechanisms.

Looted
He said that the authority is working with an organized law in the search and investigation of the recovery of looted funds and the follow-up of corruption cases, pointing to the addition of some enhanced laws in this regard, including the commission disclosure law, which is considered within the system of anti-corruption laws and the protection of public money, in addition to the money laundering and financing law. For his part, the Vice- President of the Commission, Counselor Nawaf Al-Mahmal, said that there are still many realistic and procedural challenges related to strengthening the practical aspects in recovering looted funds and corruption crimes, which require the follow- up and development of national action and the translation of the provisions of Chapter Five of the UN Convention against Corruption into a tangible practical reality.

Al-Mahmal stressed the need to achieve community awareness and consolidate the foundations and pillars of spreading a culture of anti-corruption crimes and against all forms, images and manifestations of transnational organized crimes, stressing that they are indispensable mechanisms in the framework of promoting and developing preventive measures related to the prevention of crimes in general and corruption crimes in particular. Treasurer of the Kuwait Society for the Defense of Public Funds, Fahad Al-Nasser indicated that the Fatwa and Legislation Department has formed a legal team that includes a constellation of members to work on defending the public treasury and the people’s capabilities, and strives to develop its employees by providing them with the opportunity to participate in conferences, seminars and workshops.

Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nasreen Al-Rubaian, affirmed that the United Nations, through its competent bodies, organizations and international conventions, is making serious efforts in this field, believing that addressing corruption is necessary to protect human rights and promote democratic accountability. She added that these efforts are reflected in the United Nations Convention against Corruption and its Star Initiative (StAR) in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Bank Group (WBG), which was ratified by 189 member states of the United Nations.

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