ICAR will develop and manage a revolutionary anti-corruption program, which will train and assist enforcement agencies in developing countries to uncover public graft and recover funds stolen by government officials, thereby creating and imposing deterrence to future corruption.
The training aspect of the program will offer courses averaging two weeks in length, either in Switzerland or in-country, which will be tailored based on a comprehensive needs assessment. Most programs will be interactive, including case study simulations to enhance teamwork and management skills. ICAR professors and guest lecturers, often practitioners involved in prominent cases, will emphasize the real world, practical obstacles to asset recovery and train students to overcome them. Training will encompass the new international cooperation tools of the 2003 United Nations Convention against Corruption and the effective use of information technology for fraud detection and anti-money laundering. After completion of training, ICAR will offer follow up support, through which course graduates will have continued access to asset recovery experts and an online knowledge center for help in recovery cases.
The World Bank Institute has found that 'countries that tackle corruption and improve their rule of law can increase their national incomes by as much as four times in the long term and child mortality can fall as much as 75 percent.' The IMF estimates that .8 trillion is laundered every year, much of which is related to public corruption. For years global organizations have cried out for an antidote to the 'cancer of corruption,' which has sapped the vitality of donor programs worldwide. In many developing countries corruption has now become a top-tier issue that mobilizes voters, decides elections and shapes national agendas. ICAR is the first non-profit organization formed by professional asset recovery experts to offer a comprehensive solution to the problem of corruption.
