The prosecutors took the opportunity to exchange ideas and explore best practice options in their respective jurisdictions.
Chief prosecutors from the Commonwealth Caribbean met in Saint Lucia last week to discuss recurring issues that hinder the prosecution of corruption and money laundering, and the recovery of the proceeds of such crimes.
The three-day meeting, which ended Thursday, was organized by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
Directors of Public Prosecutions and Chief Prosecutors, as well as anti-corruption agencies from the Caribbean used the opportunity to exchange ideas and explore best practice options in their respective jurisdictions.
The forum reviewed strategies to prevent executive interference in the prosecution of corruption related crimes. Practitioners also considered the interface between corruption and money laundering and the understanding that money laundering could be prosecuted with or without a predicate offence disclosed.
Describing the meeting as a “milestone” in ongoing efforts to combat corruption, Legal Adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Shadrach Haruna welcomed the regional collaboration.
“Corruption undermines public confidence and stands in the way of social and economic growth. Combating corruption is a shared goal for all of our member countries," he said. "This meeting represented an important step in finding new and innovative ways for member countries to join forces and find more effective tools to stamp out such crimes.
“Heads of Governments and law ministers have repeatedly noted that both corruption and money laundering continue to pose serious threats to governance and financial integrity. As corruption-related crimes become more technologically sophisticated and transnational, the Commonwealth will continue to draw on its shared wealth and diversity of expertise to protect its citizens against criminal activities which hinder their right to a more prosperous future.”
While feedback from member countries shows that criminal justice institutions and practitioners have awareness and experience in dealing with corruption-related crimes, enforcement and prosecutions are sometimes mired by political interference or consideration.
The consequential crime of money laundering and issue of recovery of its proceeds, particularly from abroad, remain intractable and less understood.
Participants reviewed the process of securing, recovery and management of proceeds of corruption from the point of investigations through prosecutions to conviction. They also explored best practice options in transnational elements of prosecutions and recovery of proceeds of crimes, including finding the best approach for ease of co-operation and how to ensure admissibility of evidence recovered from abroad.
Representatives attended from The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, representatives of Caribbean institutions such as the Caribbean Financial Action Task
Force, CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also contributed to the meeting.