Africa-Press – Angola. This Tuesday, in Luanda, the Italian Government expressed its will to continue to deepen cooperation with Angola in the justice sector, in the fight against corruption and organized crime, given its experience in combating the mafia.
The information was made public by the first secretary and Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Italy in Angola, Gabriele Magnini, while speaking at the workshop on Confiscation and Administration of Recovered Assets, organized by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) and the United Nations. on Drugs and Crime (UNDC). He said that Italy wants to share with Angola normative models of good practice for the confiscation and administration of recovered assets.
Gabriele Magnini referred that the workshop on Confiscation and Administration of Recovered Assets demonstrates the will of the Italian Government to deepen the excellent bilateral relations, as well as cooperation in the justice sector.
According to the first secretary and Chargé d’Affaires of the Italian Embassy in Luanda, no country is immune from organized crime. Therefore, the phenomenon requires a response and joint effort on the part of the international community.
Italy, stressed Gabriele Magnini, is committed, both nationally and internationally, to promoting actions to combat corruption, organized crime and money laundering and is working towards the construction of an asset recovery framework.
Gabriele Magnini stressed that the Italian Government has experience gained over the years in combating the “mafia” phenomenon. The “mafia”, he continued, makes globalization and international financial interconnection one of the pillars of the strategy for introducing illicit goods into the legal economy.
“We must not forget that efficient legal systems aligned with the main international standards committed to combating organized crime, money laundering and corruption phenomena help to build an economic environment legally oriented towards solid growth, to increase investor confidence and attraction of foreign investment”, underlined the diplomat.
The first secretary and Chargé d’Affaires of the Italian Embassy in Angola referred that the asset recovery policy is a crucial tool to promote the sustainable development that is within the United Nations Agenda 2023.
About six billion dollars in cash recovered
The national director for Prevention and Combating Corruption of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), Inocência Pinto said that the Angolan state has created a set of measures aimed at combating corruption, which so far has already allowed the recovery of around six billion euros. dollars in cash and the seizure of US$21 billion in assets, inside and outside the country.
According to the national director for the Prevention and Combat of Corruption of the PGR, the results achieved can be considered positive and constitute a lever in the sense of continuing the actions that aim to repress and inhibit bad practices in the management of the treasury.
The Asset Recovery Process, stressed Inocência Pinto, presents everyone with a challenge and at the same time continuity, due to the fact that it is necessary to discuss the “traditional or diffuse model” adopted by Angola and which is better for its reality.
He underlined that in practice the National Asset Recovery Service has relied on the contribution of several institutions which, without prejudice to other attributions, also have competences for the management of recovered assets.
In Angola, stressed the national director for Prevention and Combating Corruption of the PGR, there is no entity with exclusive competences for the management of assets, but it has several institutions without prejudice to other attributions and competences.
importance of the event
The holding of the workshop on Confiscation and Administration of Recovered Assets, according to Inocência Pinto, “is of great importance insofar as strong international cooperation needs to be integrated into the project to support and strengthen the National Asset Forfeiture System, with a view to countering the transversal phenomenon”.
He added that Angola advocates building strong international cooperation for the development of an effective system to combat illicit financial flow, contributing to greater economic growth and poverty reduction in the country.
The national director for the Prevention and Combat of Corruption of the PGR said that the great challenge is to find “good practices” in the administration of confiscated assets, under penalty of being degraded. “It is fundamental to create a specific management structure geared towards asset valuation”, she continued. According to Inocência Pinto, the specific management structure should be accompanied by an audit committee made up of members of civil society who will be in charge of ensuring good accounting practices and defending the common interest.
The workshop on Confiscation and Administration of Recovered Assets, organized by the Attorney General’s Office and the United Nations Organization on Drugs and Crime (ONUDC), in partnership with the Embassy of Italy in Angola, ends tomorrow.
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