Inter-agency exchanges crucial to global battle against corruption, says ICAC Commissioner
2004-7-9
The effectiveness of international cooperation in battling corruption hinged on inter-agency exchanges, not only in law enforcement but also in experience sharing and staff training, said Mr Raymond Wong Hung-chiu, Commissioner of the ICAC, at the China & ASEAN Countries Attorneys-General Conference held in Kunming in the Mainland.
Addressing the conference on " International Cooperation in Fighting Corruption –'96 The Strategy of ICAC Hong Kong ", Mr Wong today (Friday) said corruption has very often become part and parcel of other organised and serious crimes, and many corrupt activities transformed into cross border crimes.
"With the rise of globalization and 'knowledge-based economy' due to the advance of information technology, criminals round the world are now able to plan and execute a wide range of illicit activities through the internet or other means of mobile communi cation facilities.
"Criminals are also able to escape justice by speedily moving around different places, taking advantage of the convenience of modern travelling facilities," he noted.
On the enforcement front, Mr Wong cited a number of major ICAC inquiries, which had achieved success with the assistance from the Interpol and other agencies in the Mainland, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, the United States, Switzerland and Cambodia, et c.
Examples included graft facilitated cross border cigarette smuggling cases, a massive bank loan fraud involving a Hong Kong listed company and a major Malaysian bank, and corruption facilitated passport scams.
Since the establishment of the ICAC, 26 suspects had been extradited back to Hong Kong from nine countries –'96 Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Holland, the United States and Canada, with 10 of them brought back after 1997. Currently there are seven ICAC cases pending extradition proceedings.
Recognising the importance of experience sharing in combating transnational corruption, the ICAC became a founding member of the International Anti Corruption Conference since 1981 and is also one of the founders of the Interpol Group of Experts in Corrup tion.
The Commission also took the initiative to expand the regional anti-corruption seminars it had organised for the Pacific Rim region into international conferences in 1999, with the latest one co-hosted with Interpol in 2003 and attended by 550 delegates f rom 61 countries and regions.
As a further step to actively promote international partnership in the fight against corruption, the Commission last year joined the Asian Pacific Region Anti-Corruption Action Plan, promulgated by the Asian Development Bank and the Organization of the Ec onomic Cooperation and Development.
On staff training, exchange visits are regularly arranged between the ICAC and its overseas counterparts while ICAC officers have also attended overseas training courses or been invited to assist in staff training for other agencies abroad.
The Commission's latest Command Course for Chief Investigators had attracted law enforcement officials from Australia, Mauritius, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau and the Mainland.
"Through exchanges, we have successfully established an international liaison network with overseas law enforcement partners," Mr Wong noted.
The three-day Conference, attended by procurators-general and law enforcement officials of ASEAN countries and regions, will conclude this evening.
Addressing the conference on " International Cooperation in Fighting Corruption –'96 The Strategy of ICAC Hong Kong ", Mr Wong today (Friday) said corruption has very often become part and parcel of other organised and serious crimes, and many corrupt activities transformed into cross border crimes.
"With the rise of globalization and 'knowledge-based economy' due to the advance of information technology, criminals round the world are now able to plan and execute a wide range of illicit activities through the internet or other means of mobile communi cation facilities.
"Criminals are also able to escape justice by speedily moving around different places, taking advantage of the convenience of modern travelling facilities," he noted.
On the enforcement front, Mr Wong cited a number of major ICAC inquiries, which had achieved success with the assistance from the Interpol and other agencies in the Mainland, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, the United States, Switzerland and Cambodia, et c.
Examples included graft facilitated cross border cigarette smuggling cases, a massive bank loan fraud involving a Hong Kong listed company and a major Malaysian bank, and corruption facilitated passport scams.
Since the establishment of the ICAC, 26 suspects had been extradited back to Hong Kong from nine countries –'96 Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Holland, the United States and Canada, with 10 of them brought back after 1997. Currently there are seven ICAC cases pending extradition proceedings.
Recognising the importance of experience sharing in combating transnational corruption, the ICAC became a founding member of the International Anti Corruption Conference since 1981 and is also one of the founders of the Interpol Group of Experts in Corrup tion.
The Commission also took the initiative to expand the regional anti-corruption seminars it had organised for the Pacific Rim region into international conferences in 1999, with the latest one co-hosted with Interpol in 2003 and attended by 550 delegates f rom 61 countries and regions.
As a further step to actively promote international partnership in the fight against corruption, the Commission last year joined the Asian Pacific Region Anti-Corruption Action Plan, promulgated by the Asian Development Bank and the Organization of the Ec onomic Cooperation and Development.
On staff training, exchange visits are regularly arranged between the ICAC and its overseas counterparts while ICAC officers have also attended overseas training courses or been invited to assist in staff training for other agencies abroad.
The Commission's latest Command Course for Chief Investigators had attracted law enforcement officials from Australia, Mauritius, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau and the Mainland.
"Through exchanges, we have successfully established an international liaison network with overseas law enforcement partners," Mr Wong noted.
The three-day Conference, attended by procurators-general and law enforcement officials of ASEAN countries and regions, will conclude this evening.