StAR/INTERPOL Asset Recovery Focal Points Meeting

The first meeting of the StAR/INTERPOL Asset Recovery Focal Points will take place on 14 and 15 December 2010, in Vienna, Austria. It is being co-organized by the StAR Initiative, together with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), in co-operation with the U.S. Department of State. The Fourth Intersessional Meeting of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Asset Recovery of the United Nations Convention against Corruption will be held in Vienna on 16 and 17 December 2010, following this meeting.

The StAR/INTERPOL Asset Recovery Focal Point Database was established by INTERPOL in partnership with the StAR initiative on 19 January 2009. It is a secure contacts database of law enforcement officials who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to emergency requests for assistance when lack of immediate action may cause law enforcement to lose a money trail. To date 74 jurisdictions have become part of the focal point database. The meeting will bring together these focal points.

This event will also provide a forum for discussion of the actions that need to be taken to strengthen international cooperation amongst practitioners. Accordingly, it will also gather experts in international cooperation, various networks related to asset confiscation and recovery, and central authorities responsible for providing mutual legal assistance. Speakers will include practitioners from governmental agencies with experience using the focal point database, asset confiscation networks and related networks. Representatives of central authorities responsible for mutual legal assistance in corruption and other experts in international cooperation will also be invited to contribute to the discussion. The outcome of this meeting will be presented to the meeting of the Fourth Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Asset Recovery.