Recovering the proceeds of corruption

Uses the Abacha case to illustrate the difficulties of recovering assets that are the proceeds of grand corruption by politicians and officials who have held high office; in these cases the corruption has reached the scale that the culprits ensure that their gains are put outside the jurisdiction of the victim country and laundered to disguise their origins. Looks at the procedures available in the UK to enable countries like Nigeria to locate and seek return of their looted assets, and at some important changes in this area as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; these include the mutual legal assistance (MLA), so that assets in one country that are relevant to criminal proceedings in another can be restrained, and the ability to prosecute in the UK for crimes committed abroad. Outlines how MLA works: requests for evidence, search and seizure, investigations into the proceeds, restraint and confiscation. Concludes with prosecutions for money laundering, and civil proceedings.