Connecting police

Securing the world

Role of INTERPOLin Asset Recovery

Jaganathan Saravanasamy

Assistant Director, Anti-Corruption Sub-DirectorateICPO-INTERPOL

200, quai Charles de Gaulle69006 Lyon, Paris

j.saravanasamy@interpol.int

INTERPOL – a global organization

Created in 1923, INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 190 member countries

General Secretariat in Lyon, France, six Regional Bureaus, one Liaison Office, and Special Representatives of INTERPOL to the United Nations and to the European Union in Brussels.

Four official languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish

A National Central Bureau (NCB) in each member country

Airports

Police stations

Ports

Specialised Lawenforcement

agencies

NCBs

INTERPOL National Central Bureaus - NCBs

Borders

General Secretariat

INTERPOL’s 4 core functions

Secure globalpolice

communicationsservices

Operational policesupport services

Operational dataServices anddatabases for

police

Police training and

development

Wanted persons

Seeking additional information

Warnings about known criminals

Missing persons

Unidentified bodiesSpecial INTERPOL-UN Security Council

Warnings of threats

+ Diffusions

INTERPOL Notices and Diffusions

Core function #2: Operational data services and databases for police

Corruption was named as INTERPOL’s crime priority area in 2007

Asset recovery is the natural extension of AC investigation

Tools

multi-purpose tools

Customized tools

INTERPOL’s initiatives in Anti-Corruption & AML

Core function #3: Operational police support services

Difficulties in tackling Corruption

THE OFFENCE

• It is increasingly transnational

• Value moves across borders, very fast, in electronic form

• Even assets created out of corrupt money are stored in electronic form.

THE EFFORTS

• Countries are sovereign and legislative jurisdiction is limited by boundaries.

• Investigative process is physical, the channel is lengthy, compartmentalized, procedure and requirements different and often frustrating.

• Locating and linking assets stored electronically is difficult. They often change form making them difficult to trace.

United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)

Chapter II

Preventive measures

Chapter IVInternationalCooperation

Chapter VAsset Recovery

Chapter III

Criminalization & Law Enforcement

• INTERPOL's Anti-Corruption Office is engaged in a number of initiatives designed to combat corruption and encourage the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).

• It seeks to train, support and co-ordinate individuals in law enforcement through a variety of programs in order to expose and address the problem of corruption.

Anti-Corruption Office

• Operational Coordination: Global Focal Points for Asset Recovery

• Capcity Building: INTERPOL Global Programme on Anti-Corruption and Asset Recovery

• Operational Meetings: We coordinate Operational meetings for AR

Approach to Asset Recovery

Authorized list of names and contact details

Repository of skills and tools and a secured database for

ongoing cases

Authorized INTERPOL Red Notices on Corruption and future guidelines on how to

issue them

Use of Interpol’s secure I-24/7 law enforcement

communication platform

The Focal Point Initiative- concept

• Ordinarily available and restricted- A web-based application (through https://)

• A secured channel for exchange information between Focal Points-(through https://)

• A restricted access to the notices on corruption- (through https:// e-ASF2/ICIS)

• A criminal database for ongoing case (through I-24/7)

The Focal Point Initiative –Features.

Strategy for CB

• Franchise model• Out-reach in partnership• Complemaentary in nature• Regional approach• Comprehensive package• Workshop model for five working days

Role we play….

• Facilitating role

• Suggest and help select course content

• Suggest and help select faculty

• Prescribe and select the participants

Role partner plays

• Provides an institutional set-up

• Provides class room infrastructure

• Supplements faculty

• Provides and logistics

Method….• Case study based• Investigator/Prosecutor who handled

the case teaches• Hand-on workshop• Pros & cons discussed• Group discussions• Groups come out with best practices

Focus…

• On Investigator & Prosecutor• On evidence• On collecting, preserving and presenting

admissible evidence• Complete the triangle of crime-criminal-

asset by evidence

Because, efficient investigation is fundamental to successful asset recovery

The First programme

• Hosted by the CBI New Delhi between 13&17Feb 2012

• For Asia Pacific region

• 36 participants from 16 countries

A balanced diet

• UNCAC and OECD Convention-A critical analysis

• Preventive vigilance and demonstration of preventive tools

• Corruption in contracting and procurements

• Corruption in extracting natural resources• Use of INTERPOL tools and guides

A balanced diet• Role of Intelligence in corruption investigation• Tracking proceeds of corruption in virtual

world• Preserving, extracting evidence from

electronic network• Practical and hands-on training in extraction of

evidence from electronic medium

A balanced diet

• Corruption and high value financial frauds

• Investigating corruption in sports• Issues in writing MLA requests

• Investigation of corruption in sports• Group exercise on best practices

Operational Meetings• Request can be from any member country• A seconded police officer of IPSG acts as a expert

coordinator• Case officers from relevant countries invited on the

platform-• Experts invited to advise on complex issues• If need be, prosecutors are invited• The coordinator from IPSG, draws up the agenda

The Dynamics of Ops mtg• From within the participants, a Task Force

emerges• Way forward emerges on consensus• An Expert Team assembled to de deployed on

specific mission• Often, member countries and Intl. Agencies

commit resources for the mission• Coordinator at IPSG is the contact point &

manages IE platform

The Dynamics• Core case and satellite cases discussed• Outcome of criminal as well as intelligence

investigation shared• Problem areas & complexities identified• Issues concerning MLA/LRs sorted out• Structure, modalities and host for a depository for

information exchange, worked out• Strategies worked out • Contact points for future course decided• Bilateral / side / informal meetings

Thank you!

The INTERPOL Anti-corruption OfficeIPSG/Lyon