Mauritius hosts Inaugural Meeting of African Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Network
The Inaugural Meeting of the African Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Network (AFR LEN), hosted by the Financial Crimes Commission of Mauritius (FCC), was launched on 23 April 2024, at the Integrated Customs Clearance Centre of the Mauritius Revenue Authority in Plaine Magnien.
The Director General of the FCC, Dr Navin Beekarry, and the Component Head of the Serious Corruption Investigation of the South African Police Service, Major General John Matroos, respectively represented the two co-chairs of the AFR LEN, namely Mauritius and South Africa.
In his address, Dr Beekarry highlighted that South Africa is, to date, the only African country which is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (WGB), while Mauritius is expected to become the second African country to be part of the Working Group. He observed that AFR LEN aims to promote informal cooperation among law enforcement practitioners from African jurisdictions and members of the WGB on complex bribery and corruption cases, including those of transnational nature.
This network, he pointed out, provides an informal peer learning platform for building capacities and fostering confidential discussions among investigators and prosecutors involved in these cases. It is also part of the ‘OECD/African Development Bank Joint Initiative to Support Business Integrity and Anti-bribery Efforts in Africa’, which is a regional outreach programme of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions.
According to him, participants from 22 countries will have the opportunity to exchange views and strengthen inter-agency collaboration and cooperation in a bid to be more effective in the fight against corruption and financial crimes.
For his part, Major General Matroos expressed hope that the conference will foster the spirit of collaboration among participants in the fight against corruption, which is a major problem around the world. He moreover underscored that increased collaboration has the potential to encourage exchange of information and good practices, in addition to strengthening effective investigation and prosecution of complex cross-border corruption cases.
It is recalled that the meeting, hosted by the FCC in collaboration with the OECD and African Development Bank, follows a successful pilot meeting hosted by South Africa in November 2022. It will focus on issues pertaining to international cooperation and inter-agency coordination in the context of the investigation of complex corruption cases, as well as other priority topics for the region. The meeting will also provide an opportunity to discuss priority topics of interest for the AFR LEN work programme, facilitated by the two co-chairs of the AFR LEN, namely Mauritius and South Africa. Its main objectives are to: equip law enforcement authorities from African jurisdictions with the necessary tools, capacity and expertise to effectively investigate and prosecute complex corruption cases, including those of transnational nature; enhance professional contacts throughout the African region, including with key WGB jurisdictions, investigative units from Multilateral Development Banks, as well as other international law enforcement organisations that play a relevant role in the region; and launch the AFR LEN as a platform for enhancing cooperation among the African jurisdictions in transnational corruption cases.