Established in 2015 by the decision of the BRICS Leaders, the BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) serves as a platform for coordinating the BRICS countries’ approaches to the most acute issues on the international anti-corruption agenda, providing mutual support to the partners’ initiatives, implementing joint projects and promoting direct contacts between the national competent authorities.
The ACWG is chaired by the State holding the rotating BRICS Chairmanship for a calendar year. Beyond the BRICS members, other countries can join the ACWG initiatives on an ad hoc basis at its invitation. International organizations and intergovernmental bodies, primarily the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Anti-Corruption Academy, cooperate with the ACWG, at its request, as its knowledge partners on specific projects.
The ACWG’s annual work plan is determined by the rotating BRICS Chairmanship, while its standing priorities include asset recovery, denial of safe haven to the corrupt and proceeds of crime, the fight against corruption as an enabler of sustainable development, and anti-corruption awareness-raising, education and training. The ACWG’s activities are largely focused on sharing anti-corruption knowledge and expertise and building capacities of different target audiences, including anti-corruption practitioners and educators. It also prepares written deliverables, adopted by consensus, depending on the priorities of the rotating Chairmanship.
