PATNA: The first meeting of the G20 Anti-corruption Working Group (ACWG) concluded in Gurugram, Haryana on Friday with a call for strengthening law enforcement cooperation for action against corruption and related economic crime among other measures.
At the 3-day G20 ACWG Meet, intensive and productive deliberations were held on several key focal areas pertaining to asset recovery, fugitive economic offenders, information sharing, institutional frameworks for combating corruption and mutual legal assistance.
The meeting was significant for India, especially in the wake of economic offenders and absconders fleeing the country after committing crimes and taking refuge in a foreign land. In the absence of smooth bilateral understandings, securing the extradition of such offenders has been a time-consuming and tedious process.
Following the concluding session, a joint briefing on the meet was conducted by Rahul Singh, Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training and Chair, G20 ACWG, along with Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini, Head of Task Force, Co-chair, G20 ACWG, Italy, addressed the media at the end of the ACWG meeting.
Rahul Singh said that in the past three days, “there have been intensive and productive deliberations on several key focal areas pertaining to Asset Recovery, Fugitive Economic Offenders, formal and informal channels of cooperation for information sharing, institutional frameworks for combating corruption and mutual legal assistance, among others.” The endeavour of the delegates during the deliberations to arrive at a consensus on the draft text of the High-Level Principles that are on the agenda for the ACWG during India’s G20 Presidency, he added.
Addressing the media, Mr Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini re-affirmed Italy’s staunch support for India’s agenda at the G20 ACWG. While talking about the changing nature of corruption, he said “there is a need to engage with civil society and the business community, as part of a multi-stakeholder approach that is required to effectively fight against corruption.”
The sessions during the 3-day meeting included presentations and interventions of country delegates and experts from UNODC, OECD, Egmont Group, INTERPOL and IMF. Senior Indian officials and dignitaries including Girish Chandra Murmu, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Praveen Kumar Srivastava, Central Vigilance Commissioner of India, Nitin Gupta, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Director Enforcement Directorate and Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, Director, Central Bureau of Investigation, delivered their keynote addresses during the sessions.
Considerable progress has been made in discussing the High-Level Principles of improving information sharing to fight corruption and related economic crimes. Issues pertaining to strengthening asset recovery mechanisms related to corruption and related economic crimes, and strengthening law enforcement cooperation for Action against Corruption and related economic crime, were an integral part of the discussions. “Promoting Integrity and effectiveness of public bodies responsible for preventing and combating corruption, were also deliberated upon in detail,” Rahul Singh informed.
The first 3-day meet at Gurgaon was inaugurated on March 1 by Union Minister of State for Personnel & PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh. Following this, the second ACWG meeting will be held at Rishikesh from Mar 25 to 27 May for and the thirst at Kolkata from 9th to 11th August 2023.
Over 90 delegates participating from 20 member countries, 10 Invitee countries and 9 International Organizations attended the first meeting of the G20 ACWG, which is truly representative of the richness of international experience in anti-corruption initiatives. India placed on record its sincere appreciation and gratitude for the presence of Italy as the co-chair of the G20 ACWG.