ICAC Commissioner advocates removal of barriers to international cooperation
2001-11-12
Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Mr Alan Lai Nin, today (Monday) called for international efforts to streamline mutual assistance procedures in fighting transnational corruption and organised crimes.
Mr Lai urged that barriers now existed between jurisdictions that hindered efforts such as evidence taking and exchange of intelligence should be pulled down.
The ICAC Commissioner was speaking at the first day of the Regional Conference of Attorneys-General of Countries in Asia and Europe held in Guangzhou of China. The theme of the three-day meeting, with more than 400 participants, is on “International Cooperation in Combatting Transnational Crimes”.
Mr Lai said the Commission was deeply aware of the importance of international collaboration in countering corruption, especially when it hit upon organised crimes including gangland style murder, drug trafficking, fraud, cigarette and human smuggling and money laundering.
“The transnational nature of these offences had sent ICAC investigators to countless cities in all five continents, from Tokyo in the East across Europe to Honduras in the West, and from Helsinki in the North across Asia to Dunedin in the southern tip of New Zealand,” he recounted.
The reward of cross-jurisdictional cooperation could best be illustrated in an ICAC undercover operation mounted in 1998 when a US Customs Officer of Ukrainian background helped in posing as a Russian gangster.
With the assistance of the US agent, a global syndicate trading in diplomatic passports and laundering Russian organised crime proceeds was smashed, and a number of Hong Kong law enforcement officers, casino operators in Macau, and an immigration official from Sierra Leone were put behind bars.
To coordinate and facilitate overseas and Mainland investigations, the ICAC had set up its first International and Mainland Operational Liaison Section in 1989, followed by the setting up of a second Mainland Liaison team in 1995 to facilitate exchanges i n educational and preventive work.
Given the growing economic, financial and social integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland, Mr Lai said the importance of cooperative efforts between ICAC and the Mainland Procuratorate authorities could not be over emphasised.
The Commissioner noted that mutual assistance schemes were in force between the two places in the investigation of corruption in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and the giving of evidence by witnesses voluntarily in court for the other side.
Investigation aside, Mr Lai also stressed the importance of developing international collaboration through seminars and conferences such as the Anti-Corruption Conference co-founded by the ICAC in 1983, and biennial seminars hosted by the ICAC since 1992.
Cross-fertilisation of ideas and networking opportunities provided by cross-jurisdictional training programmes formed another important building block in international cooperation, he added.
Mr Lai said globalisation was a double-edge sword which could bring about enormous economic opportunities as well as posing a major threat in the form of transnational organised crime.
“I believe we should take a hard look at the Mutual Legal Assistance Schemes and other agreements that are already in place between countries and jurisdictions to see if existing procedures could be streamlined in order to make the taking of evidence and t he exchange of intelligence more effective.
“I look forward to the day when we, law enforcement agencies and prosecution services, will be able to act in a boundaryless manner in our fight against transnational corruption and organised crime,” he said.
Hailing the adoption of the United Nations’ Convention against Transnational Organised Crime last year as a very timely initiative, Mr Lai concluded that the need for greater cooperation among law enforcement agencies worldwide had never been greater.
Meanwhile, ICAC’s Head of Operations, Mr Tony Kwok Man-wai, has just returned from Shanghai after attending the Conference on the Comparison in Legal Systems between the Mainland and Hong Kong.
During the Conference, Mr Kwok chaired a panel discussion on the topic of "WTO and the Review of Legal system in China".
In his brief opening remarks, he noted that while vast business opportunities generated by the Mainland’s entry into WTO would definitely attract international investors, transnational criminal enterprises might also take advantage of such opportunities for their illicit advances.
Sharing ICAC’s experience, Mr Kwok highlighted that a sound legal system, clear anti-corruption laws, effective law enforcement, transparent government procedures and public education were crucial elements to minimising corruption opportunities and maintaining a level playing field.
The Conference, held in Shanghai between November 9 and 10, was organised by Hong Kong's Legal Education Trust Fund.
Mr Lai urged that barriers now existed between jurisdictions that hindered efforts such as evidence taking and exchange of intelligence should be pulled down.
The ICAC Commissioner was speaking at the first day of the Regional Conference of Attorneys-General of Countries in Asia and Europe held in Guangzhou of China. The theme of the three-day meeting, with more than 400 participants, is on “International Cooperation in Combatting Transnational Crimes”.
Mr Lai said the Commission was deeply aware of the importance of international collaboration in countering corruption, especially when it hit upon organised crimes including gangland style murder, drug trafficking, fraud, cigarette and human smuggling and money laundering.
“The transnational nature of these offences had sent ICAC investigators to countless cities in all five continents, from Tokyo in the East across Europe to Honduras in the West, and from Helsinki in the North across Asia to Dunedin in the southern tip of New Zealand,” he recounted.
The reward of cross-jurisdictional cooperation could best be illustrated in an ICAC undercover operation mounted in 1998 when a US Customs Officer of Ukrainian background helped in posing as a Russian gangster.
With the assistance of the US agent, a global syndicate trading in diplomatic passports and laundering Russian organised crime proceeds was smashed, and a number of Hong Kong law enforcement officers, casino operators in Macau, and an immigration official from Sierra Leone were put behind bars.
To coordinate and facilitate overseas and Mainland investigations, the ICAC had set up its first International and Mainland Operational Liaison Section in 1989, followed by the setting up of a second Mainland Liaison team in 1995 to facilitate exchanges i n educational and preventive work.
Given the growing economic, financial and social integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland, Mr Lai said the importance of cooperative efforts between ICAC and the Mainland Procuratorate authorities could not be over emphasised.
The Commissioner noted that mutual assistance schemes were in force between the two places in the investigation of corruption in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and the giving of evidence by witnesses voluntarily in court for the other side.
Investigation aside, Mr Lai also stressed the importance of developing international collaboration through seminars and conferences such as the Anti-Corruption Conference co-founded by the ICAC in 1983, and biennial seminars hosted by the ICAC since 1992.
Cross-fertilisation of ideas and networking opportunities provided by cross-jurisdictional training programmes formed another important building block in international cooperation, he added.
Mr Lai said globalisation was a double-edge sword which could bring about enormous economic opportunities as well as posing a major threat in the form of transnational organised crime.
“I believe we should take a hard look at the Mutual Legal Assistance Schemes and other agreements that are already in place between countries and jurisdictions to see if existing procedures could be streamlined in order to make the taking of evidence and t he exchange of intelligence more effective.
“I look forward to the day when we, law enforcement agencies and prosecution services, will be able to act in a boundaryless manner in our fight against transnational corruption and organised crime,” he said.
Hailing the adoption of the United Nations’ Convention against Transnational Organised Crime last year as a very timely initiative, Mr Lai concluded that the need for greater cooperation among law enforcement agencies worldwide had never been greater.
Meanwhile, ICAC’s Head of Operations, Mr Tony Kwok Man-wai, has just returned from Shanghai after attending the Conference on the Comparison in Legal Systems between the Mainland and Hong Kong.
During the Conference, Mr Kwok chaired a panel discussion on the topic of "WTO and the Review of Legal system in China".
In his brief opening remarks, he noted that while vast business opportunities generated by the Mainland’s entry into WTO would definitely attract international investors, transnational criminal enterprises might also take advantage of such opportunities for their illicit advances.
Sharing ICAC’s experience, Mr Kwok highlighted that a sound legal system, clear anti-corruption laws, effective law enforcement, transparent government procedures and public education were crucial elements to minimising corruption opportunities and maintaining a level playing field.
The Conference, held in Shanghai between November 9 and 10, was organised by Hong Kong's Legal Education Trust Fund.