SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: BRICS members, who attended a meeting of the Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) here, reached an in-principle agreement on Wednesday, August 5, on the Indian Presidency’s proposal for a BRICS Network of Law-Enforcement Practitioners for Enhancing International Cooperation on Fugitive Offenders.
The Union Government’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) hosted the Second Meeting of the BRICS ACWG and the Second Meeting of the BRICS Expert Network on Asset Recovery here on August 4-5.
During the meeting, BRICS members made significant progress towards developing a BRICS Network of Law-Enforcement Practitioners for Enhancing International Cooperation on Fugitive Offenders Sought for Corruption and Supporting Extradition, an official release said.
“Members held constructive discussions on the objectives, scope and operational modalities of the proposed network and reached an in-principle agreement on the initiative and decided to continue deliberations on establishing a dedicated practitioner-level platform,” it said.
The initiative is expected to facilitate informal cooperation, support the tracing of fugitive offenders and complement existing formal mechanisms for extradition and international cooperation, it said.
Members also welcomed the BRICS Repository on Informal Cooperation for Tracing Fugitive Offenders Sought for Corruption and Supporting Extradition, it said.
The Repository would serve as a practical, practitioner-oriented resource bringing together information on national practices and existing channels of informal cooperation.
The second meeting of the BRICS Expert Network on Asset Recovery made substantive progress on practical deliverables aimed at strengthening direct cooperation among competent authorities, it said.
The members reached consensus on the standardised formats to facilitate timely practitioner-level information exchange during the preliminary stages of investigations while complementing formal mutual legal assistance mechanisms, it said.
The Expert Network also welcomed the Directory of Focal Points and Experts, which will enable more direct communication among competent authorities across BRICS countries.
BRICS members exchanged national experiences, institutional approaches and practical case studies relating to international asset recovery.
A dedicated side event on “Ethical Governance through Innovation and Tech-Driven Systems” provided a platform for member countries to share practical innovations in technology-enabled governance.
The participants highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence, machine learning and big-data analytics to shift oversight from post-facto detection towards preventive vigilance through real-time risk identification and targeted verification, it said.
The thematic session on “Emerging Risks from Financial Technology and Virtual Digital Assets: Addressing their Misuse in Concealing and Laundering the Proceeds of Corruption” observed that while FinTech and Virtual Digital Assets promote financial inclusion and innovation, their speed, borderless character and opacity can also be exploited to conceal and transfer illicit proceeds.
The members underscored the need for clear and risk-based regulatory frameworks that strengthen anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing safeguards while preserving the legitimate innovative potential of emerging technologies, the release said.
The outcomes of the meeting have laid a strong foundation for future BRICS Presidencies to carry forward these initiatives and progressively develop them into effective and operational platforms for cooperation among anti-corruption and law-enforcement authorities, the release added.
SOURCE : SIASAT
