Inter-Sessional Meeting on Asset Recovery Expert Forum-“Best Practices of Recovering Stolen Asset from Asian and African Country”
The AALCO Secretariat and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia jointly organised an Inter-Sessional Meeting on Friday, 21 June 2024 on “Best Practices of Recovering Stolen Asset from Asian and African Country”. The meeting was attended by Diplomats and Officials from AALCO Member States. The Inter-Sessional Meeting was conducted as a follow-up of the discussions held on the proposal of the Republic of Indonesia to establish an Asset Recovery Expert Forum during the Sixty-First Annual Session held in Bali in October 2023.
The Inaugural Session of the Meeting was addressed by H.E. Dr. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol, Secretary-General, AALCO; H.E. Ms. Ina Krisnamurthi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia to India, in capacity of the Presidency of Indonesia of the Sixty-First Annual Session of AALCO; Ms. Uma Sekhar, Additional Secretary, Legal and Treaties Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Republic of India and Mr. Cahyo R Muzhar, Director General of Legal Administrative Affairs, Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia. They inter alia shed light on the significance of the topic of asset recovery and supported the proposal for the establishment of the Asset Recovery Expert Forum.
The Inaugural Session was followed by two Technical Sessions. The first session was titled “Best Practices of Recovering Stolen Asset from Asian and African Country”. The Speakers for this session consisted of Mr. Cahyo Muzhar, Director General (DG) of Legal Administrative Affairs, Government of the Republic of Indonesia as an Expert from the Republic of Indonesia and Mr. Visakh K, Deputy Director, Enforcement Directorate, Ministry of Home Affairs, Republic of India as an Expert from the Republic of India. The Experts discussed the complex procedure of recovering stolen assets and the unique challenges faced in Asset Recovery. They also shared their experiences, success stories and best practices for the recovery of stolen assets.
The second technical session was in the form of a Meeting among Member States to establish Contact Group of Asset Recovery Expert Forum. This meeting was presided by Mr. Cahyo Muzhar and H.E. Dr. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol. The key issues discussed during this session included the various factors to be considered for the formation of the Expert Forum, namely, the creation of a list of contact group, the qualifications of the experts and the role of the AALCO Secretariat in the Forum, among others. The discussion was followed by a lively and interactive Questions and Discussions session wherein the Speakers responded to the queries and comments of the Distinguished Delegates. The Inter-Sessional Meeting ended with a Vote of Thanks proposed by H.E. Dr. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol.
