Resources - World Bank Group (WBG) 

Building Public Support for Anti-corruption Efforts: Why Anti-corruption Agencies Need to Communicate and How

This paper provides a practical overview of how an agency may work with the media to win the support of the public in the fight against corruption. The first part explains why anti-corruption agencies need to take the media particularly seriously, how the media communicate, and what effects they have on the ... Read more

Year of publication: 2010

First Do No Harm - Then, Build Trust: Anti-Corruption Strategies in Fragile Situations

Most familiar anti-corruption strategies require sound state, social, and political institutions, and a minimal level of trust, both in government and among citizens. The absence of all or most of those assets is in part what defines fragility. Another key attribute is an 'expectations trap', in which citizens ... Read more

Year of publication: 2010

Tracking Anti-corruption and Asset Recovery Commitments: A Progress Report and Recommendations for Action

Corruption is a global epidemic. Its impact can be particularly devastating on developing countries, which lose billions of dollars every year through corrupt acts such as bribery, misappropriation of public property, abuse of office, and embezzlement. Corruption and the illicit financial flows that result hinder ... Read more

Year of publication: 2011

Fraud and Corruption Awareness Handbook: A Handbook for Civil Servants Involved in Public Procurement

This handbook is intended for government employees involved in public procurement. It provides some insights into how fraud and corruption schemes work in public investments. The handbook identifies a range of fraud and corruption indicators, or red flags, and relevant schemes that may become apparent ... Read more

Also available in: Polish

Year of publication: 2016

Report of the 2014 Third Biennial Meeting of the WBG’s International Corruption Hunters Alliance (ICHA): Global Local knowledge Impact

The biennial meeting of the World Bank Group’s International Corruption Hunters Alliance (IHCA) is a critical part of our anti-corruption activities. Every two years, more than 350 members of the Alliance come to Washington, D.C., to discuss cutting-edge issues and tactics for combating corruption. ... Read more

Year of publication: 2015

The Fight against Corruption: Taming Tigers and Swatting Flies

Corruption robs the public of precious resources, distorts the incentives to engage in productive activities, destroys confidence in public institutions, and spurs political instability. It disproportionately harms the poor and vulnerable. In turn, corruption is the result of perverse incentives, concentration of ... Read more

Year of publication: 2020

Public Office, Private Interests: Accountability through Income and Asset Disclosure

The fight against corruption is a developmental imperative. While international efforts have achieved some significant results, they also illustrate the extent of the challenges that remain. A key lesson of experience is that tackling corruption needs to be waged simultaneously on two fronts: prevention and ... Read more

Also available in: Spanish Thai

Year of publication: 2012

Asset Recovery Handbook: A Guide for Practitioners

This handbook is designed as a how-to manual that guides practitioners as they grapple with the strategic, organizational, investigative, and legal challenges of recovering assets that have been stolen by corrupt leaders and hidden abroad. The handbook is organized into nine chapters, a glossary, and ten appendixes of additional resources. ... Read more

Also available in: French Spanish Arabic Chinese Thai Korean Vietnamese

Year of publication: 2011

Changing Norms is Key to Fighting Everyday Corruption

One of the biggest impediments to anti-corruption efforts is the fact that corrupt practices have become so institutionalized in everyday society that citizens view them as fixed and incontestable. To break down such an entrenched mind-set, the public’s ignorance of their rights, cynicism, fear of reprisal, and ... Read more

Year of publication: 2011

Stolen Asset Recovery: A Good Practices Guide for Non-conviction based Asset Forfeiture

Non-Conviction Based (NCB) asset forfeiture is a powerful tool for recovering the proceeds of corruption, particularly in cases where the proceeds have been transferred abroad. With an increased focus on the issue, there is a corresponding need for a practical tool that jurisdictions contemplating NCB forfeiture legislation can use. ... Read more

Also available in: French Spanish Russian Arabic Chinese Thai

Year of publication: 2014

Improving Co-operation between Tax Authorities and Anti-Corruption Authorities in Combating Tax Crime and Corruption

This joint report by the World Bank and OECD identifies building blocks for more effective co-operation and is the first comprehensive global study of its kind. The report identifies key agencies involved in the fight against tax crime and corruption and examines the organisational models applied to these agencies ... Read more

Year of publication: 2018

Anti-corruption Policies and Programs: A Framework for Evaluation

The anti-corruption strategy the World Bank announced in September 1997 defined corruption as the "use of public office for private gain" and called for the Bank to address corruption along four dimensions: 1) Preventing fraud and corruption in Bank projects; 2) Helping countries that request Bank ... Read more

Year of publication: 2000

World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law

Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? This World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law ... Read more

Year of publication: 2017

Going for Broke: Insolvency Tools to Support Cross-Border Asset Recovery in Corruption Cases

This guide sets out, for the first time, a step-by-step guide for asset recovery practitioners on the use of insolvency proceedings in recovering corruption proceeds. The report outlines the procedures associated with insolvency actions, explores challenges associated with this approach, and provides ... Read more

Year of publication: 2020

Barriers to Asset Recovery: An Analysis of the Key Barriers and Recommendations for Action

Barriers to Asset Recovery, released on June 21, 2011 by the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR), advises policy makers on reforms that will enable the recovery of stolen assets. Drawing on consultations with over 50 ... Read more

Also available in: French Spanish Arabic

Year of publication: 2011

On the Take: Criminalizing Illicit Enrichment to Fight Corruption

'On the Take: Criminalizing Illicit Enrichment to Fight Corruption' is the first comprehensive survey of illicit enrichment laws and provides a broad analysis of the challenges in both drafting and implementing the criminal offense of illicit enrichment. 'On the Take' provides policy makers, prosecutors, and other ... Read more

Also available in: French Spanish

Year of publication: 2012

Getting the Full Picture on Public Officials: A How-to Guide for Effective Financial Disclosure

Financial disclosure, asset disclosure, income and asset declarations, wealth reporting, and interest declarations—despite the variations in name, all of these mechanisms are bound by a common and simple principle: a public official must periodically submit information about his or her income, assets, ... Read more

Also available in: French Spanish

Year of publication: 2016

StAR Annual Report 2018

From Kuala Lumpur to Pretoria, and from Islamabad to Yerevan—concerns about corruption have spawned political change across the world in 2018. With information about the shameless stealing of their rulers proving harder to contain, citizens have taken to the streets to demand change, and, at the ... Read more

Year of publication: 2019

StAR Annual Report 2017

In 2017, StAR celebrated its ten-year anniversary with remarkable progress in the asset recovery realm. StAR organized the first ever Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) where over 250 participants representing 26 jurisdictions as well as international organizations, civil society and media expressed ... Read more

Year of publication: 2018

The Puppet Masters: How the Corrupt Use Legal Structures to Hide Stolen Assets and What to Do About It

This StAR report examines how bribes, embezzled state assets and other criminal proceeds are being hidden via legal structures – shell companies, foundations, trusts and others. The study also provides policy makers with practical recommendations on how to step up ongoing international efforts to ... Read more

Also available in: French Spanish Arabic

Year of publication: 2011

Identification and Quantification of the Proceeds of Bribery: A Joint OECD-StAR Analysis

This StAR and OECD study shows that financial gains from bribery can be accurately calculated and confiscated. The study draws on cases from six countries to show several methods of quantification that are already in use, and challenges the commonly-held perception that calculating the gains made by bribe-paying companies is too complicated. ... Read more

Also available in: French

Year of publication: 2011

International Partnerships on Asset Recovery

By helping countries to establish systems to obtain information on the source, destination and ultimate beneficiary of proceeds of crime and corruption, asset recovery networks aim to help asset recovery specialists around the world to fight against corruption and money laundering. This directory first ... Read more

Year of publication: 2019