Anti-corruption agencies and income, interest and asset declaration (IIAD) systems

This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from one of Transparency International’s national chapters. The Anti-Corruption Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International and funded by the European Union.

Query

Please provide an overview of “good practice” examples of national anti-corruption agencies/commissions around the world that are involved in overseeing and enforcing asset declarations/financial disclosure by public officials.

Summary

Anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) may play one or more of the following roles in establishing and operating income, interest and asset declaration (IIAD) systems: i) raising awareness and providing support to officials to file their declarations; ii) receiving and managing declarations; iii) verification and cross-checking data in declarations; iv) enforcing sanctions and/or referring infringements to law enforcement; and v) providing public access to data.

Good practice examples from various jurisdictions offer important insights into the role of ACAs in IIAD systems. These include, among others: i) a strong support system provided by ACAs for declarants to help them properly understand their obligations and submit their declarations correctly; ii) an automated receipt and management system to minimise errors and ensure secure data processing; iii) a robust verification system relying on a risk-based approach to sampling; iv) a proportionate and dissuasive enforcement system relying on autonomy in investigations and channels for inter-agency collaboration; v) and enabling public access to IIAD data on ACAs’ websites in a user-friendly, machine-readable format.

The Arabic version of this Helpdesk Answer is available here.

Main points

• ACAs around the world rely on various tools, including radio announcements, emails, call centre support, instructional videos and manuals to support officials to file declarations.
• ACAs can utilise customised software to minimise errors during submission and ensure secure data processing.
• To improve the efficiency of verification, ACAs can rely on a targeted, risk-based sampling techniques to ensure that declarations that are red flagged against predefined risk indicators are subject to closer inspection.
• Stronger autonomy in investigations, as well as inter-agency collaboration, is important for effective enforcement, along with a variety of dissuasive and proportionate sanctions.
• ACAs have a role in providing public access to IIAD data in a user-friendly and machine-readable format.

Content

1. Introduction
2. The basic principles of effective IIAD systems
3. The role of ACAs in establishing and implementing IIAD systems
   1. awareness raising and support to officials to file their declarations
   2. receipt and management of declarations
   3. verification and cross-checking of data in declarations
   4. enforcement of sanctions/referral to law enforcement
   5. providing public access to data
4. ACAs and IIAD systems: good practice examples
5. References

Authors

Miloš Resimić, [email protected]

Reviewers

Matthew Jenkins and Aram Khaghaghordyan

Date

03/04/2023

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