Task Force welcomes India ratifying UNCAC

From Lalit K Jha
Washington (PTI) - The Task Force on Financial
Integrity and Economic Development (Task Force) has welcomed
India's announcement that it has ratified the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
Building upon India becoming a member of the Task
Force in January of this year, the ratification Friday comes
as part of a broader effort by India's government to tackle
corruption and stem the flow of illicit capital flight
estimated at approximately USD 19 billion per year, the Task
Force said in a statement.
"The UN convention is the only legally binding
international agreement targeting corruption," Raymond Baker,
director of Global Financial Integrity (GFI), the officiating
member of the Task Force, said.
"India has taken a significant step forward both in
its own efforts to stamp out corruption and in supporting
broader international efforts to increase transparency in the
global financial system," he said.
The convention is currently signed by 140 countries,
though many have yet to ratify it.
The Convention commits signatories to tackle
corruption internally through criminalisation and proactive
measures and comprehensively through cooperation in asset
recovery and information sharing with other countries.