Egypt has managed to obtain a freezing order from the EU and Switzerland for all looted funds and assets smuggled overseas, Director of the International Cooperation and Human Rights Departments at the Prosecutor General’s Office Mohamed Mahmoud Khalaf said on Tuesday 14/12/2021.

Khalaf was speaking during a special session on the “best practices of and main obstacles to recovering proceeds of corruption,” held as part of the 9th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption that kicked off on Monday in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh.

Afterwards, the Egyptian State turned to tracking down corrupt individuals seeking safe havens abroad, by obtaining international arrest warrants or them, while putting those individuals on the Interpol Red Notice list, and preventing them as well as their spouses and underage children from disposing of their funds and assets, Khalaf told the session, which was chaired by head of the Administrative Control Authority Maj. Gen. Hassan Abdul Shafi.

Asserting Egypt’s full commitment to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), Khalaf reviewed the country’s experience in recovering proceeds of corruption, as well as the role of relevant state bodies to deal with the challenges related to returning stolen and embezzled public funds diverted abroad.

He noted that a national committee assigned to recuperate smuggled funds and assets had managed to retrieve about $900 million originating from corruption crimes, after their perpetrators submitted reconciliation requests to the committee.

As one of the world’s largest anti-corruption gatherings, the conference brings together people from Member States, parliaments, inter-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector.

It will wrap up on Friday.

Source: State Information Service Egypt