Anti-Corruption and Transparency

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 also 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 laid out in its Terms of Reference for 2022-2025 and in the ACTWG Strategic Plan for 2023-2026, which 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 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 in 2013. The first plenary meeting of the ACT-NET was held in Beijing in 2014. The terms of reference of the network can be accessed here.

The ACT-NET’s strategic focus is to:

• Maintain a network connecting anti-corruption and law enforcement officials to enhance informal cross-border cooperation between agencies responsible for the investigation and prosecution of corruption, bribery, money laundering, and illicit trade, and the identification and return of the proceeds of these crimes.

• Function as an informal platform for regional anti-corruption and law enforcement officials to consult, coordinate, and share effective practices with their counterparts from other economies to carry out these activities more efficiently and effectively.

• Share experiences, case studies, investigative techniques, investigative tools, and effective practices to help build more efficient cross-border cooperation in and enhance the capacity of economies as they fight against corruption, bribery, money laundering, and illicit trade, and as they identify and return the proceeds of these crimes.

Last page update: November 2023

Contacts

Current Activities

Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts' Working Group (ACTWG) Meeting, 15 – 16 February 2023

Activities and initiatives

The ACTWG holds two annual plenary meetings on the margins of the first and third senior officials’ meetings (SOM1 and SOM3). 

The 36th ACTWG Plenary Meeting was held in Palm Spring, California on 15-16 February 2023. The 37th ACTWG Plenary Meeting took place in Seattle, Washington in August 2023.

Events and/or initiatives

• 17 February 2023: Workshop – APEC Principles on the Prevention of Bribery and Enforcement of Anti-Bribery Laws (Self-Funded Project ACT 01 2023S, United States)
• 21-23 April 2021: Symposium to Develop Gender Sensitivity Training and Guide to enhance Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment in Fighting Corruption (APEC Funded Project ACT 01 2020, New Zealand)
• 19-20 October 2020: Capacity Building Workshop on Exposing the Unseen Hands: Tackling Concealment of Beneficial Ownership (APEC Self-Funded Project ACT 03 2020S, Malaysia)
• Symposium on Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment to Fight Corruption, held on 11-12 February 2020 (Putrajaya, Malaysia) APEC Project ACT 01 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
• 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.

Deliverables:

2021

• Gender Mainstreaming and Mentoring in APEC Anti-Corruption Agencies

2020

• Guidebook on Best Practices in Monitoring and Supervising Effective Corporate Compliance Programs – APEC Publication, February 2020
• Bridging the Gender Gap: Gender Mainstreaming & Women Empowerment as Game Changer in Anti-Corruption Initiatives – APEC Publication, November 2020

2019

• 15 Years Compilation Document: ACTWG 2004–2019 (Chile)
• Commemorative Statement for the 15 years of the ACTWG (endorsed on the 29th ACTWG Plenary Meeting)
• APEC Compilation of Good Practices on Promoting Social Engagement in Anti-Corruption 2018-2019 (Viet Nam)