LCIL Friday Lecture: Recovering Looted Assets in the Fight Against Grand Corruption - Prof Jason Sharman, University of Cambridge

LCIL International Law Seminar Series

Lecture summary: The presentation analyses an unprecedented new international moral and legal rule that forbids one state from hosting money stolen by the leaders of another state. The aim is to counter grand corruption or kleptocracy, when leaders of poorer countries loot billions of pounds at the expense of their citizens, and transfer the money to rich host countries like the UK, US and Switzerland. The presentation discusses the shortcomings of the effectiveness of international law in this area, and the resulting tendency to resort to creative solutions and non-state actors in recovering stolen wealth hidden abroad. Lastly, there is a link to an earlier World Bank report on the topic I co-authored at: https://star.worldbank.org/sites/star/files/puppetmastersv1.pdf Jason Sharman is the Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, as well as the Sir Patrick Sheehy Professor of International Relations. Sharman’s research is focused on the regulation of global finance, especially as relates to money laundering, tax, corruption and offshore financial centres, and the international relations of the early modern world. His most recent books are The Despot’s Guide to Wealth Management (Cornell University Press 2017), and Empires of the Weak: The Real Story of European Expansion and the Creation of the New World Order (Princeton University Press 2019). The Lauterpacht Centre Friday lecture series is kindly supported by Cambridge University Press.