“Despite the efforts of the ULCC and UCREF, very few convictions have been handed down in cases of corruption and organized crime”, recognizes the UN
The Director-General/Executive Director of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV)/United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ghada Fathi Waly, during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the current situation in Haiti, highlighted the works of Hercules carried out by the institutions involved in the fight against corruption in Haiti, a country where corruption tends to become the norm.
According to the one who has the rank of deputy secretary general of the United Nations, since the entry into force of the 2014 anti-corruption law, Haiti’s anti-corruption unit, the ULCC, has reported dozens of cases of financial crimes involving government contracts and public funds. Even if she did not mention it, in recent years, ULCC reports have pointed the finger at authorities or individuals who are even involved in acts of corruption, involving public property and public funds. .
“Despite the efforts of l’ULCC and the Central Financial Intelligence Unit of Haiti (UCREF), very few convictions have been handed down in cases of corruption and organized crime. The reasons for this are limited capacity, acute politicization and arbitrary legal costs,” she argued. This observation echoes the fact that very few cases have managed to be processed in the judicial system and very few people accused of corruption, embezzlement of public funds, or illicit enrichment have managed to be convicted.
Ghada Fathi Waly, who has held this position since February 1, 2020, following his appointment by Secretary General António Guterres, indicated, moreover, that “the authorities also observed that criminal proceeds were being laundered through the private sector, notably in the oil and gas sector, as well as through banks, real estate companies, lotteries and other businesses. »
In some cases, non-profit organizations created by public officials are suspected of facilitating money laundering, she adds. Additionally, gangs engage in kidnapping for ransom, as well as informal taxation of the use of critical infrastructure they control.
Photo: Ody Bien-Eugène | Juno7
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