In Los Cabos in 2002 and in Bangkok in 2003, APEC Economic Leaders committed to implementing general and area-specific APEC Transparency Standards.

In Chile, 2004, the Leaders acknowledged that corruption is a serious threat to sustainable economic growth, good governance, market integrity, and enhanced trade and investment. Senior officials approved a recommendation by APEC Anti-Corruption Experts to establish the Anti-Corruption Experts’ Task Force.

In March 2011, the task force was upgraded to working group status following a 2010 recommendation from its members to institutionalize its work.

The Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group (ACTWG) is tasked to coordinate the implementation of the Santiago Commitment to Fight Corruption and Ensure Transparency, the APEC Course of Action on Fighting Corruption and the APEC Transparency Standards. In 2014 the working group adopted the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption.

The ACTWG also promotes cooperation in areas of extradition, legal assistance and judicial/law enforcement (especially asset forfeiture and recovery).

The working group is open to anti-corruption experts and law enforcement officials from all interested APEC member economies, APEC observers (i.e., ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council), and representatives from the APEC Secretariat and the APEC Business Advisory Council.

For more information, download the APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts' Working Group Terms of Reference.

The 24^th ACTWG meeting was held on 19-20 February 2017, in Nha Trang, Viet Nam.

Key Deliverables

3^rd Meeting of the APEC Network of Anti-Corruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies (ACT-NET)

The Third ACT-NET meeting was held in 16 August 2016 in Lima, Peru. Members supported the goal of the ACT-NET to establish and develop an inter-economy network that connects anti-corruption and law enforcement officers. This serves to enhance informal cross-border cooperation between agencies responsible for investigations and the prosecution of corruption, bribery, money laundering and illicit trade, as well as the identification and return of the proceeds of those crimes.

In this third meeting of focal points, members of the network took the opportunity to continue their joint efforts by discussing fugitive repatriation and informal international cooperation. The agenda included multilateral task forces, combating international corruption cases and cross-border law enforcement operations.

Building regional capacity for asset recovery and anti-money laundering was an additional focus, involving the detailing of cases and special operations, as well as information seeking and step-by-step guides on cross-border cooperation in bribery and ongoing prosecution cases.

The 4^th ACT-NET Meeting took place on 19 August 2017 in Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam.

Implementing the UN Convention against Corruption

In the APEC Economic Leaders Declaration, Vladivostok, Russia 2012, Leaders encouraged members to fully implement the UN Convention against Corruption.  Brunei Darussalam, Chile, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam shared their reports on developments and progress in implementing the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and other domestic initiatives and legal advances related to anti-corruption and transparency. 

Collaboration with Other Multilateral Organizations

Representatives from Transparency International, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCDE), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, INTERPOL, and the American Bar Association (ABA) shared their reports on recent activities related to transparency and anticorruption and possible opportunities for collaboration with ACTWG.

The APEC ACT Meeting with International Organizations was held on 21 August 2017, in in Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam.

Handbook on Prosecuting Corruption and Money Laundering Cases

Chile and Thailand presented the Handbook "Designing Best Models on Prosecuting Corruption and Money Laundering Cases Using Financial Flow Tracking Techniques and Investigative Intelligence for Effective Conviction and Asset Recovery to Promote Regional Economic Integration.” This handbook highlights the best tools to deal with investigation and prosecution of complex criminal cases of corruption and money laundering.  

Workshops and Projects in 2016

A workshop on “Facing Foreign Bribery”, where economies shared experiences on their domestic initiatives, was held on 22 February in Lima, Peru, and organized by the High-Level Commission on Anti-Corruption of Peru. The activity addressed two main topics: the legal framework for foreign bribery, and the liability of legal persons for bribery.

A workshop on “Anti-bribery Compliance Programs and Incentives”, co-chaired by Peru and the United States took place on 15 August in Lima, Peru.  

Workshops and Events in 2017 

The APEC Pathfinder Dialogue IV ‘Partnerships for Sustainable Security Strengthening the Fight Against Corruption and Illicit Trade:’ (19 - 20 August 2017 in Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam. 

The ACT-NET Workshop on ‘Enhancing Cooperation among Law Enforcement Authorities for Asset Recovery’ (August 2017 in Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam).