Restitution was honoured to be invited to host a workshop on cryptocurrency on 20 July 2022 for Sierra Leone’s Anti-Corruption Commission (the ACC). With the assistance of Ms Evelyn Kuyateh, the Director of Intelligence and Investigations of the ACC, the workshop was run remotely and was well attended with approximately 40 participants. The Commissioner of the ACC, Francis Ben Kaifala, kindly opened the event with the Opening Remarks. He spoke about the ACC’s fight against corruption, an organisation which, since 2018, has recovered over Le34 billion in cash in addition to houses, vehicles and other valuables, the highest the ACC has ever recovered in any four year period. Restitution’s Investor Relations Director gave a brief update on Restitution and its work.
The workshop was run by one of Restitution’s partners, Asset Reality, an organisation which provides services and tools to public and private sector companies investigating, tracing, recovering, and managing assets. Kevin Hart, Advisor, led the workshop which produced some good interaction and engagement with the participants. Their short film about the stone coins used by villagers on the Micronesian island of Yap was particularly helpful.
Notes:
- Sierra Leone’s ACC was established in 2000 as an independent commission to lead the fight against corruption through prevention, investigation, prosecution and public education.
- Currently, 1 trillion dollars in Illicit Financial Flows is stolen every year from the continent of Africa and remains an untapped asset class. This money belongs to state sovereigns. IFFs account for 5% of Africa’s GDP, 12% of trade and nearly 200% of official development assistance in 2018. If IFFs were tackled effectively, Africa would become a net creditor.