Director-General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased to welcome you all to this event dedicated to celebrating the GlobE Network.
International cooperation lies at the heart of our global anti-corruption efforts.
The UN Convention against Corruption speaks to this very truth, having achieved near-universal adherence.
Prior to the Convention’s adoption, authorities from different countries lacked direct and effective avenues for communicating with one another.
Differences in legal systems and criminal justice standards hindered the exchange of valuable information and evidence.
The UNCAC changed this landscape profoundly, by recognizing corruption as a global problem requiring a global response, and ushering in a new era of cooperation.
And as the world confronted a deadly pandemic just a few short years ago, the need for countries to come together became more crucial than ever, to prevent resources being diverted away from crisis response and recovery efforts.
Turning crisis into opportunity, the first G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting in 2020, under the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, laid the foundation for a new agile response that transcended geographical and bureaucratic barriers – the GlobE Network.
Today, GlobE connects 181 law enforcement authorities from across 103 countries – more than half the number of the UN Member States.
And this has happened in a relatively very short time.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime is proud to serve as the Network’s Secretariat, having hosted four plenary meetings in Vienna, and I’m grateful to China for agreeing to host the next plenary in 2024.
These meetings provide practitioners with valuable opportunities to forge new connections, expand their networks, and exchange operational information on ongoing cases.
The Network also complements the work of other major organizations engaged in anti-corruption initiatives.
The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units and the OECD are both observers to GlobE, and we are cooperating with them directly in this area.
We are also ensuring harmony with the work of other entities such as the World Bank, INTERPOL, and the Financial Action Task Force, as well as several regional networks in Africa and Latin America, targeting complementarity and avoiding duplication.
We recently launched a regional component in the Western Balkans, which has already yielded positive results, with authorities in Albania supporting ongoing investigations in neighbouring North Macedonia, fostering a culture of trust and collaboration.
Earlier this year, the Network also established a new partnership with our Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative – StAR – a joint UNODC and World Bank Initiative, to support governments in recovering stolen assets and closing safe havens for corrupt funds.
At the fourth plenary meeting, GlobE and the StAR Initiative facilitated cooperation on a corruption case in Moldova, involving fake loans reportedly worth 22 billion dollars that were laundered across several jurisdictions between 2011 and 2014.
The platform provided an informal channel through which the Moldovan authorities could swiftly request information, while their counterparts could share evidence needed to advance the investigations.
By expediting requests for mutual legal assistance, the Network streamlined a process that would otherwise be long and complex.
Meanwhile, GlobE has adapted to the changing technological landscape, as criminals exploit cryptocurrencies and the dark web to transfer funds, commit fraud, and conceal their digital footprint.
The GlobE Secure Communication platform, launched in 2021, provides a hub for authorities to share information quickly, informally, and securely.
And we continue to develop new publications, resources, and tools to share best practices and build the capacities of law enforcement practitioners.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today’s event is an opportunity to advance our efforts and to expand the Network’s reach even further.
I encourage anti-corruption authorities that have not yet joined to consider doing so.
At a time when our world is facing deep divides, the UNCAC reminds us that countries can still find common ground and work together for a world free from corruption.
GlobE is a prime example.
Let us continue to work together and stand united against corruption, for a more just, fair, and prosperous world for all.
Thank you.