New Delhi, Aug 11: Ahead of the top G20 Ministerial meet and the final meeting of G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) at Kolkata on Saturday, India is seeking consensus among G20 nations against fugitive economic offenders to ensure faster extradition of fugitive economic offenders and recovery of assets, both domestically as well as abroad, said Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh on Friday.
He said the G20 meeting is making a good headway for a consensual approach. Dr Singh recalled that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had presented a nine-point programme to take action against fugitive economic offenders during his address at the G20 Summit in Buenos, Argentina. PM Modi highlighted the importance of cooperation in legal processes such as effective freezing of the proceeds of crime, early return of the offenders and efficient repatriation of the proceeds of crime, he said.
The minister said, “Economic offences have been a problem faced by many, especially when the offenders flee from the jurisdiction of the country and all countries are on the same page as far extradition of fugitive economic offenders and recovery of assets are concerned, but different laws of the member states pose a problem in this regard. A consensus is already in the offing for collective and joint action to deal with this menace and deployment of sophisticated technologies is also being explored to tackle the problem.”
Referring to a series of G20 meetings in various parts of the country including Jammu and Kashmir, North-East, UTs and tourist hotspots, Dr Jitendra said it gave India an opportunity to showcase not only its prowess in various sectors but also demonstrated the varied culture and diversity of India, which Prime Minister Modi is trying to convert into a permanent asset.
“It is a proud moment for every Indian that India is hosting the G20 Summit and the credit for this goes to Prime Minister Modi,” he said, adding, “After 26 May 2014, when Modi took charge at the Centre, India’s Global Stature is continuously on the ascending path. On Geo-Strategic matters, India’s voices now matter and the whole world listens to our solemn advice on issues of global concerns.”
The minister said that under India’s G20 presidency, the ACWG has been able to achieve significant progress on anti-corruption cooperation regarding action against fugitive economic offenders and return of assets, guided by the Nine Point Agenda for Action Against Fugitive Economic Offences and Asset Recovery, presented by PM Modi to G20 nations in 2018.
The 3rd ACWG meeting in Kolkata will give direction to the future work of ACWG and also enable the exchange of valuable insights and best practices related to combating corruption across different sectors by G20 members, invitee countries and international organizations (IOs).
“G20 Engagement Groups (EGs) including Civil Society (C20), Women groups (W20), Think tanks (T20), Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI20) and Business Groups (B20) will also update the G20 ACWG on work pertaining to anti-corruption issues in their areas,” he said.
