Intervention at session I of OHCHR Expert Meeting on the obstacles to repatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin and their impact on the enjoyment of human rights

Session I: Obstacles to the repatriation of funds of illicit origins to the countries of origin: challenges identified at the different stages of the process of repatriation

Intervention delivered by Gaurav Kumar Thakur, Counsellor

13 February 2024 10:20—12:00 CET, Room XX, Palais des Nations, Geneva

Thank you Chair for giving the floor.

2. We thank the panelists for their insightful presentations. Access to low-cost capital has only become more difficult post the Covid pandemic, particularly in a world beset with complex geopolitical challenges. We would like to share some practical issues that developing countries face in their efforts of asset recovery. 
3. The report by independent expert presented during the 52nd session of the council highlighted in detail, lack of cooperation between the financial intelligence units of the requesting state and the state where the suspect resides in conducting necessary investigation. The rapidly evolving ecosystem around virtual financial assets and the strict privacy laws surrounding these tax havens make the process of tracing such assets even more challenging. International cooperation in asset recovery often gets politicized. Some of the other challenges faced by investigative agencies in tracking and recovery of illicit funds include: (i) differences in legal systems and requirements of recipient and source country; (ii) Challenges in enforcement of foreign confiscation orders due to difference in legal threshold in source and recipient countries; (iii) Impediments in use of tax information for criminal investigation due to cumbersome consent requirements from source countries; and (iv) delays in execution of asset recovery.

4. It would also be pertinent to mention at this stage that tax avoidance by multinationals and mis-allocation of taxing rights in the context of rapidly growing digital economy leading to legitimate financial flows being cornered by only few is another challenge that the developing countries have been facing in recent time.

5. We have to recognize that without providing adequate capital and financing for development, the harp of human rights, be it civil and political rights or the economic, social and cultural rights, sounds hollow and banal. Achievement of SDGs requires financing, which can only come up if illicit financial flows are stopped and there is a sincere attempt at international cooperation to prevent and combat corrupt practices, fiscal transparency and trace transfers of illicit origin, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. No discussion on Business and Human Rights will be complete without a discussion on repatriation of funds of illicit origins and asset recovery.

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