The External Relations Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, has signed an asset-sharing agreement to return confiscated assets to Kenya as part of ongoing work to tackle financial crime.
The Minister for External Relations, Senator Ian Gorst, signed two international arrangements this week to promote greater cooperation between Jersey and Kenya: the Framework for Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime to Kenya (FRACCK) and a memorandum of understanding on financial cooperation with the government of Kenya.
Senator Gorst commented: “The governments of the UK, Switzerland and Jersey have agreed with the government of Kenya to establish the FRACCK as a multilateral framework agreement – the first of its kind - to return confiscated assets to Kenya.
"The framework represents a significant achievement in relation to the confiscation and return of stolen assets and I hope it will act as an example of the kind of innovative legal approach the international community can explore to secure meaningful progress in asset recovery.”
The multilateral framework agreement commits the partners to the following principles:
• Returning confiscated assets derived from corruption to Kenya
• Returned assets should be used to pursue clearly identified development objectives that benefit the people of Kenya and support Vision 2030
•Projects to deliver these objectives should be defined by the government of Kenya and agreed to by partners.
MoU on cooperation
In addition to signing FRACCK, Jersey is a core donor to the International Centre for Asset Recovery, through which it supports work in Kenya to prevent and fight international financial crime and recover stolen assets.
Last year, Senator Gorst met President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya in London to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on financial cooperation. This week, Senator Gorst also signed this MoU with Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.
The MoU outlines a series of initiatives to promote greater cooperation between Kenya and Jersey across a range of areas of mutual interest, including asset sharing, collaborating in tackling financial crime and increasing cross-border trade and investment, including through a double taxation agreement.