G20 must make equal effort against graft: ACWG

Jakarta (ANTARA) - G20 member states must make equal efforts against corruption and improve the anti-corruption index by reducing graft, Civil 20's Anti-Corruption Working Group (C20 ACWG) chair, Dadang Trisasongko, has said.

"If G20 member states make equal anti-corruption efforts and enhance their anti-corruption index to surpass the 50-points score, I believe global investment and trade will improve, particularly on the anti-corruption aspect," he highlighted in his opening remarks at a webinar on ‘Asset Confiscation Bill and G20 Principles,’ accessed virtually from Jakarta on Tuesday.

Forty-seven percent of G20 member states, including China, Indonesia, and Russia, have scored lower than 50 points on their anti-corruption index, he noted.

Hence, considering the influence that G20 countries have on global trade and economy, improving the index is essential, he said.

The C20 ACWG chair further said that asset recovery, which is one of several measures for addressing corruption, will help G20 members improve their anti-corruption index.

He also highlighted that political corruption that often occurs in commodity and services procurement and granting of permits is one factor that has led the anti-corruption index in several G20 countries, including Indonesia, to stagnate.

"Political corruption is relevant to issues on the commodity and service procurement and permit. Most of it, primarily to address the crime, will end on the asset recovery," Trisasongko noted.

To address corruption in G20 countries, the governments of member states must make progressive efforts to recover assets obtained by corrupt means, particularly concerning the regulatory aspect, Trisasongko said.

The efforts must be realized by governments of Indonesia and other G20 member states by considering the World Bank’s recommendations and guide on asset recovery, the C20 ACWG chair added. (*)