APEC senior officials established the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts Working Group (ACTWG), firstly as an “Anti-Corruption Task Force,” in 2004 in Santiago, Chile. That year, APEC Leaders recognized that corruption was a serious threat to the APEC agenda and its priorities of sustainable economic growth, good governance, market integrity and enhanced trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific Region. Leaders recognized that APEC could make a difference by working together to fight corruption and promote transparency. The task force was upgraded to a Working Group in March 2011, to institutionalize and structure its work.

The purpose, structure and administration of the ACTWG are contained in its Terms of Reference and the ACTWG Strategic Plan for 2019–2022 can be accessed here.

The ACTWG is tasked to:

• Coordinate the implementation of their funding commitments: Santiago Commitment to Fight Corruption and Ensure Transparency (2004), the APEC Course of Action on Fighting Corruption (2004) and the APEC Transparency Standards
• Facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the 2014 Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption
• Promote programs and initiatives to increase the participation of the private sector and civil society in the development of anti-corruption policies and/or measures within the economies, as well as to enhance the support by governments of efforts for greater integrity within the private sector
• Develop innovative training, targeted capacity building and results oriented technical assistance to fight corruption and ensure transparency
• Intensify individual and joint actions to fight corruption and ensure transparency, including cooperation with other multilateral and regional intergovernmental institutions where appropriate
• Exchange information between anti-corruption experts on the implementation of domestic anti-corruption commitments and successful practices to fight corruption and enhance the transparency of public and private sectors
• Cooperate with the international organizations, as appropriate, to implement the APEC Course of Action on Fighting Corruption and Ensuring Transparency
• Facilitate cooperation between APEC fora on corruption issues and assist in making recommendations on proposals/projects to Senior Officials

The ACTWG has one subsidiary body: the Network of Anti-Corruption Authorities and Law Enforcements Agencies (ACT-NET), which was established by the ACTWG during its 17^th meeting in Indonesia, 2013. The first plenary meeting of the ACTNET was held in 2014, Beijing. The terms of reference of the network can be accessed here.

The ACT-NET, consistent with each economy’s legal system, has three main functions

• To establish an develop an inter-economy informal network connecting regional anti-corruption and law enforcements officers to enhance informal cross border cooperation between agencies responsible for investigations and prosecutions of corruption, bribery, money laundering, and illicit trade and the identification and return of the proceeds of these crimes

• To share experiences, case studies, investigative techniques, investigative tools, and effective practices in order to help build more efficient cross-border cooperation in and enhance the capacity of economies’ fight against corruption in the areas mentioned above, in close coordination with the ACTWG, relevant international organizations and other stakeholders
• To provide an informal and platform for bilateral or multilateral case cooperation in order to advance pragmatic anti-corruption cooperation activities in support APEC Economies’ international commitments in this area

The sixth plenary meeting of the ACTNET was held in Puerto Varas, Chile, on 20–21 August 2019.

Last page update: September 2019

Activities and initiatives 2019

The ACTWG hold two annual plenary meetings on the margins of the first and third Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOM1 and SOM3). This year, the 28^th plenary meeting was held on 1–2 March in Santiago, and the 29^th plenary meeting was held on 21–22 August in Puerto Varas, Chile. Both meetings were chaired by Ms Marta Herrera, Director of the Specialized Unit for Anti-Corruption of the Public Prosecutor Office of Chile.

These are the group’s latest events and/or initiatives:

• Self-Funded (Chile) Workshop on Digital Governance, Integrity Policies and Corruption Prevention Mechanisms in APEC Economies, held on 27 February 2019, Santiago
• Cross-Fora Collaboration Meeting with representatives of the Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy, the Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures and the Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group, held on 27 February 2019.
• APEC-funded (Chile) Capacity Building Workshop for Law Enforcement Agents to investigate individual and corporate liability in domestic and foreign bribery, 18–19 August 2019

Key Deliverables 2019:

• 15 Years Compilation Document: ACTWG 2004–2019 (Chile)
• Commemorative statement for the 15 years of the ACTWG (endorsed on the 29^th ACTWG Plenary Meeting)
• APEC Compilation of Good Practices on Promoting Social Engagement in Anti-Corruption 2018-2019 (Viet Nam)
• Self-Funded Project Workshop on Denying Safe Haven and Enhancing Mutual Legal Assistance (China)—to be held the last week of November in China

Upcoming Events 2020:

• APEC-Funded Project Symposium on Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment to Fight Corruption–on the margins of SOM1, Malaysia