Experts call for using technology to fight corruption

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Participants at a global event pledged to deepen international cooperation against corruption and also called for strengthening the use of technologies to tackle challenges in the fight against corruption in the digital age.

According to David Oginde, chairman of the Kenyan Ethics and Corruption Commission, the growth of artificial intelligence has led to widespread digital corruption, making it easy to move the proceeds of corruption across borders undetected.

He made the observation during a high-level forum of the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities, hosted by China in Beijing from Monday to Friday.

Oginde described the GlobE Network as a great platform to share ideas, experiences and strengths in the fight against corruption. “It has also provided an opportunity for different countries to learn from each other and understand how to fight corruption across borders.”

He noted that the process of implementing major infrastructure projects undertaken by China over the past decade has been open and transparent. “China is also very advanced in technology such as AI and big data and can help developing countries deal with digital corruption and tell them how the technologies can be used to fight corruption,” he said.

Neil Walsh, Executive Secretary of the GlobE Network, said the digital age has seen significant changes in the way corruption is committed, making it important to strengthen international cooperation in this area.

“If we continue to use the same techniques from 1980, 2000 or 2010, we will miss the majority of crimes now,” he said.

According to him, cooperation between countries must be improved to improve digital skills, such as the use of big data analytics and investigative capabilities, to better understand who is corrupt, how they move the proceeds of their crimes and to which countries.

He said China has set the tone for the fight against corruption at the research and policy levels over the past decade, with the repatriation of corrupt individuals and the recovery of ill-gotten assets. “The approach to fighting corruption and the willingness to take on that fight gives us a lot of inspiration, and also some benchmarks to follow.”

Data released by China’s National Supervisory Commission shows that since 2015, when Skynet, an anti-corruption manhunt campaign, was launched, the country has brought back more than 13,000 fugitives and recovered more than 60 billion yuan ($8.56 billion) in illicit assets found abroad.

Moreover, according to the data, 62 of the 100 most wanted fugitives, who had an Interpol Red Notice against them, have also been returned to China.

Slagjana Taseva, dean of the International Anti-Corruption Academy, said: “China’s anti-corruption initiatives have laid the foundation for new ways to fight corruption, and have also proven that original cooperation at all levels is very important.”

She welcomed the high-level forum, where participants could exchange ideas on how to make the fight against corruption more effective and efficient. She added: “We still need to work together for better knowledge and education to fight corruption.”

Epiphane Zoro Bi Ballo, President of the High Authority for Good Governance in Côte d’Ivoire, said he learned a lot from the forum on recovering illicit assets and tackling cross-border economic crimes, and pledged to implement a consensus expressed at the event accepted. .

GlobE Network, supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, is a fast-growing global community that enables transnational cooperation on corruption cases.

It was the first time that GlobE Network, founded in 2021, held a forum at such a high level. The event attracted approximately 400 guests from 105 countries and international organizations and fulfilled the Beijing Consensus on law enforcement cooperation and denial of safe havens from corruption.

The Consensus should promote information exchange, consultation and effective mutual legal assistance on corrupt practices in a timely manner, as well as intensify efforts to allocate sufficient resources to domestic law enforcement authorities for anti-corruption efforts.

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