Third Meeting of BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group Held under Russian Chairship

The third and final meeting of the BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) this year was held back-to-back with the relevant UN format in Vienna on 26 -27 August 2024.

In the opening remarks H.E. Mikhail Ulyanov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna, highlighted the importance of the ACWG consistent effort in implementing the anti-corruption priorities of the Russian BRICS Chairship. The outcome thereof is the adoption of the two key documents by the Group, namely «Enhanced Anti-Corruption Cooperation and Recovery and Return of Assets and Proceeds of Corruption: BRICS Common Vision and Joint Action» and «BRICS Cooperation in Anti-Corruption Education, Knowledge-Sharing and Capacity-Building: Achievements and Way Forward».

Additionally, the ACWG had a substantial discussion of a note on asset recovery in BRICS countries, the first analytical paper issued by the ACWG based on the information provided by the member States and defining the most important challenges the countries encounter in repatriating proceeds of crime and ways to address them.

A BRICS Conference on Safeguarding Sport from Corruption was co-organised with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the sidelines of the ACWG meeting as a follow-up to the 2018 international forum on the same topic under the BRICS auspices and as a contribution to the implementation of resolution 8/4 on safeguarding sport from corruption tabled by Russia and adopted by the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption. Considerable attention was paid to inadmissibility of discrimination in sport and promotion of the Global Report on Corruption in Sport issued by UNODC with Russia’s financial support.

The ACWG deliverables are to be be reflected in the BRICS Summit declaration, which is to be adopted during the leaders meeting in Kazan.

Brazil, taking over the BRICS Chairship from Russia, expressed its intention to preserve the continuity of the ACWG agenda.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia’s BRICS chairship.