Global experts call for harnessing advanced technologies to fight corruption

While pledging to deepen international cooperation against corruption, foreign participants at a global event also called for strengthening the use of technologies to address challenges in the anti-corruption fight in this digital age.

"With the growing technology of artificial intelligence, more efforts need to be made because of a trend toward digital corruption that is easy for proceeds of corruption to go cross-border without detection," said David Oginde, chairperson of the Kenya's Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission.

He made the remark during a high-level forum of the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network), which was hosted by China in Beijing from Monday to Friday.

Oginde regarded the GlobE Network as a great platform to share ideas, experiences and strengths against corruption, adding "it also provided an opportunity for different countries to learn from one another and understand how corruption should be fought across the borders."

He noted that big infrastructure projects undertaken by China over the past decade have been done in an open and transparent manner, saying "China also being highly advanced in technology such as AI and big data can help developing nations to deal with digital corruption and tell them how the technologies can be used to combat corruption."

Neil Walsh, executive secretary of the GlobE Network, said that significant changes on committing corruption have been emerging in the digital age, stressing the importance of strengthening international cooperation in this field.

"If we're still using the same techniques from 1980, 2000 or 2010, we'll miss the majority of the crimes now," he said.

In his view, cooperation among countries should be improved to grow the digital skills, such as using large data analysis and capability in investigations, so as to better understand who are corrupt and how they are moving the proceeds into which countries.

He said that China has set the tone for fighting corruption at investigation and policy level, with endeavor in repatriation of corrupt individuals and recovery of ill-gotten assets in the past 10 years, adding "its approach to countering corruption and willingness to take on that fight give us a lot of inspiration, and also some benchmarks to follow."

Data released by the China's National Commission of Supervision showed the country has brought back more than 13,000 fugitives and recovered over 60 billion yuan of illicit assets from abroad since 2015, when Skynet, an anti-corruption manhunt campaign, was launched.

Additionally, 62 of the 100 most-wanted fugitives, who were the subject of Interpol Red Notices, have also been returned to China, according to the data.

"China's initiatives against corruption have set the ground for the new ways of fighting corruption, and also proven that original cooperation at all levels is very important," said Slagjana Taseva, dean of the International Anti-corruption Academy.

She welcomed that the high-level forum allows participants to exchange ideas on how to make the combat against corruption more effective and efficient, but adding "we still need to work together for better knowledge and education to fight corruption."

Épiphane Zoro Bi Ballo, president of High Authority for Good Governance in Cote d'Ivoire, said that he has learned a lot about recovering illicit assets and tackling cross-border economic crimes from the forum, pledging to implement a consensus adopted at the event.

GlobE Network, supported by the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime, is a rapidly expanding global community that facilitates transnational cooperation in corruption cases.

Established in 2021, it was the first time that GlobE Network held such a high-level forum, which attracted about 400 guests from 105 countries and international organizations, and passed the Beijing Consensus on Law Enforcement Cooperation and Denial of Safe Haven for Corruption.

Under the consensus, information exchange, consultation, and effective mutual legal assistance related to corrupt practices need to be timely promoted, and efforts also need to be increased to allocate sufficient resources for domestic anti-corruption law enforcement authorities to progress corruption cases.