The World Bank and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a handbook on how to return the stolen funds to their countries of origin, the UN reported.
The Asset Recovery Handbook, prepared by an international team of experts, draws on the experience of a wide range of countries and legal traditions. Designed as a quick reference, it describes approaches to recover the proceeds of corruption in foreign jurisdictions.
Moreover, it identifies the difficulties that practitioners are likely to encounter, suggests strategic and tactical options to address the challenges, and introduces good practices, the UN further said.
In developing countries, 20 to 40 billion U.S. dollars, which are derived from corruption, are laundered and transferred abroad annually.
The UN Convention against Corruption, approved by the General Assembly on Oct. 31, 2003, provides for the return of stolen assets to their countries of origin. Over the past 15 years, however, it has not managed to return more than $5 billion.