International co-operation key to fighting graft

The effectiveness of international co-operation in battling corruption hinges on inter-agency exchanges, not only in law enforcement but in experience sharing and staff training, the ICAC Commissioner, Mr Raymond Wong, said today (July 9).

Addressing the China and ASEAN Countries Attorneys-General Conference in Kunming, Mr Wong said corruption often became part and parcel of other organised and serious crimes, and many corrupt activities transformed into cross-border crimes.

He said that with the rise of globalisation and the 'knowledge-based economy', criminals around the world were now able to plan and execute illicit activities through the Internet or other means of mobile communications.

"Criminals are also able to escape justice by speedily moving around different places, taking advantage of the convenience of modern travelling facilities," he said.

On the enforcement front, Mr Wong cited a number of major ICAC inquiries, which had achieved success with assistance from Interpol and other agencies in the Mainland, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, the United States, Switzerland and Cambodia.

Examples included graft-facilitated cross-border cigarette-smuggling cases, a massive bank loan fraud involving a Hong Kong listed company and a major Malaysian bank, and corruption-facilitated passport scams.

Since the establishment of the ICAC, he said, 26 suspects had been extradited to Hong Kong from nine countries -- Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Holland, the United States and Canada. Ten of them were returned after 1997. There are seven ICAC cases pending extradition proceedings.

Recognising the importance of experience sharing in combating trans-national corruption, the ICAC became a founding member of the International Anti-Corruption Conference in 1981 and is also a founder of the Interpol Group of Experts in Corruption.

The Commission took the initiative to expand the regional anti-corruption seminars.

Exchange visits are regularly arranged between the ICAC and its overseas counterparts while ICAC officers have also attended overseas training courses or been invited to assist in staff training for other agencies abroad.

The Commission's latest Command Course for Chief Investigators attracted law-enforcement officials from Australia, Mauritius, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau and the Mainland.

"Through exchanges, we have successfully established an international liaison network with overseas law-enforcement partners," Mr Wong said.

Ends/Friday, July 9, 2004