On April 17, 2025, the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States, in collaboration with the World Bank Group, hosted a panel discussion on “Recent Trends and Good Practices in Returning Illicit Assets”. The panel consisted of Ambassador Franz Perrez, Director General of the International Law Directorate at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Jean Pesme, Director Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Department of the World Bank Group, and Bruce Swartz, Senior Advisor (non-resident) to the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), as well as Jodi Vittori, Professor of the Practice and Concentration Co-Chair for Global Politics and Security at Georgetown University.
In his opening remarks, the Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States, Dr. Ralf Heckner, emphasized Switzerland’s strong commitment to the global fight against corruption. Asset recovery – defined as the identification and return of illicitly acquired assets by politically exposed persons – plays a crucial role in this effort, particularly as Switzerland is a major international financial center. Dr. Heckner highlighted the importance of partnerships, especially between countries from which assets are stolen, countries where the assets are held, and multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the World Bank. He noted that Switzerland and the United States have developed a robust partnership in this field and expressed Switzerland’s interest in further strengthening this cooperation.
Ambassador Franz Perrez outlined Switzerland’s most recent asset return case with Uzbekistan. Through a new UN multi-partner trust fund, called the “Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund”, a mechanism was set up to channel back assets that Switzerland has confiscated in the complex of Gulnara Karimova. Ambassador Perrez expanded on how crucial Switzerland’s close collaboration with other countries is, and how this cooperation can also be facilitated by establishing restitution mechanisms that are open to those other countries, like the “Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund”. Such mechanisms are often developed in partnership with multilateral institutions like the United Nations and the World Bank. Jean Pesme noted that the World Bank has compiled a unique dataset of over 80 asset recovery cases, which serves to inform policy discussions and promote best practices. Bruce Swartz reflected on the past, present, and future of asset recovery efforts in the United States, highlighting the successes past efforts have yielded. He pointed to the Kleptocracy Initiative set up by President Obama’s Attorney General Holder and the Bota asset return case with Kazakhstan. Furthermore, he echoed Dr. Heckner’s remarks on the importance of maintaining and deepening the strong partnership between the United States and Switzerland in addressing this critical issue.
