By Amin Kef (Ranger)
Sierra Leone has restated its strong commitment to international anti-corruption efforts during the Second Resumed Sixteenth Session of the Implementation Review Group Meeting on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), held in Vienna, Austria, from September 1–5, 2025.
Delivering Sierra Leone’s statement, Deputy Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Augustine Foday Ngobie, updated delegates on the country’s progress in implementing Chapters IV and V of the Convention, which focus on international cooperation and asset recovery.
Augustine Foday Ngobie underscored Sierra Leone’s determination to fully implement the UNCAC, noting that the provisions have been domesticated into national law. The Anti-Corruption Act of 2008, amended in 2019, integrates the requirements of international cooperation and asset recovery into Sections 103 to 118 and Section 89.
“These amendments reflect our firm commitment to ensuring that the true spirit of the Convention is comprehensively operationalized,” he told the gathering.
He further highlighted the 2019 amendment that allows for trials in absentia of corruption suspects who flee abroad. While this provision does not fully eliminate the challenges of extradition, it helps mitigate them. Augustine Foday Ngobie urged the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to work with countries whose laws hinder extradition to enable repatriation of fugitives.
Sierra Leone’s role in global anti-corruption cooperation was a central theme in the Deputy Commissioner’s address. He noted the country’s active participation in peer review processes under the UNCAC, where Sierra Leone has both been reviewed and served as a reviewer for other states.
In April 2025, Sierra Leone joined other African countries in signing the African Asset Recovery Practitioners (AARP) Forum Charter in Nairobi. The Charter, aligned with the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR), provides a framework to strengthen asset recovery and management across the continent.
The Deputy Commissioner also emphasized Sierra Leone’s participation in the West Africa Police Information System (WAPIS), an INTERPOL initiative to enhance information sharing and coordination among security and justice institutions.
Through its Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Sierra Leone has developed strong partnerships with the US and UK Treasuries, the World Bank, GIABA, OCWAR-M and SecFIN Africa.
Highlighting milestones, Augustine Foday Ngobie pointed to Sierra Leone’s successful hosting of the GIABA Plenary in November 2024, a recognition of the country’s leadership in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing. He also announced Sierra Leone’s admission in July 2025 as a full member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, granting access to secure information exchange with over 170 countries.
Additionally, Sierra Leone has engaged in peer learning and technical support to other countries. It has provided guidance to The Gambia on grievance redress mechanisms, Uganda on asset declaration regimes and Cameroon on non-conviction asset recovery. Sierra Leone also collaborated with Gambian authorities and INTERPOL to arrest and repatriate corruption fugitive, Elizabeth King.
On asset recovery, the Deputy Commissioner detailed Sierra Leone’s significant progress. Since 2018, the ACC has recovered stolen assets including houses, vehicles, electronics and over 75 million old Leones (about $3.2 million). Some of these recoveries were returned to affected institutions such as the Freetown City Council, the University of Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority.
Between 2024 and 2025 alone, Sierra Leone recovered over NLe 40.1 million (approximately $1.7 million). Notably, in November 2024, the ACC entered into a settlement agreement that yielded NLe 34.8 million ($1.5 million) in a single instance.
Augustine Foday Ngobie stressed that Sierra Leone balances prosecution and recovery in its anti-corruption fight. With support from the UK Pro Bono Network, the ACC developed a Non-Prosecution Policy to guide decisions on whether to pursue recovery or prosecution in specific cases.
Despite Sierra Leone’s advances, the Deputy Commissioner cautioned that international cooperation remains limited in productivity. He called for stronger collaboration among states to ensure that corruption offenders cannot use foreign jurisdictions as safe havens.
“Concrete efforts must be made by state parties not only to help uncover but also to return stolen assets hidden offshore,” he urged.
Closing his statement, Augustine Foday Ngobie emphasized the need for a united global front against corruption.
“Corruption remains the tall order in our societies, irrespective of the forms it takes,” he said. “We must be deliberate to unite against it, collaborate and cooperate to ensure that our countries no longer serve as safe havens for looted wealth but rather hold the corrupt accountable.”
The Deputy Commissioner’s remarks reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s growing role as a leader in the regional and global fight against corruption, positioning the country as a strong advocate for transparency, accountability and justice.
