From AIDOGHIE PAULINUS, Abuja

The assets recovery efforts by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, received a major boost this week in United States of America with the successful conclusion of the inaugural Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR).

But the US was quick to acknowledged that the repatriation of stolen assets is very complex and a time-consuming process.

One major landmark recorded during the opening of the GFAR was the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Switzerland, Nigeria and the World Bank to repatriate the sum of $321 million said to have been stolen by former head of state, late General Sani Abacha.

The Deputy Director, Office of Anti-Crime Programs, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State, Washington D.C, Robert Leventhal, stated this during a telephonic press briefing on US anti-corruption efforts in Africa from the US Department of State’s African Regional Media Hub, the transcript of which was made available to Saturday Sun in Abuja by the US Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria.

Leventhal further said the format of the GFAR, was based on the experience the US had with similar forums supported by the United States and other countries over the years to benefit both the countries in the Middle East and North Africa and Ukraine.

The events, Leventhal added, came at a time when governments and citizens around the globe, use December 9 (today), to highlight the importance of combating corruption, underscore their progress and identify remaining challenges.

“So, the meetings here in Washington brought together investigators and prosecutors from around the world, who are responsible for asset recovery so that they could meet and discuss, face-to-face, their ongoing cases, establish personal working relationships and understand better, each other’s laws and procedures so that we would see even stronger cooperation going forward and more effective asset recovery.”