About Us
We believe that returning back stolen assets will enable countries on the global South, particularly in Africa to address inequality, reduce poverty, innovate and build sustainable partnerships.
About the African Center for Governance, Asset Recovery and Sustainable Development.
The African Center for Governance, Asset Recovery, and Sustainable Development (otherwise known as “the African Center”) is an independent, civil society organization with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. The African Center works with national governments, international and regional organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations to promote good governance, sustainable development, and the rule of law.
We work around the world to foster national and international cooperation in the recovery and return of proceeds of corruption and illicit finance back to countries of origin in line with Chapter V of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and Goal 16 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We believe that returning stolen assets will enable countries in the global South, particularly in Africa to address inequality, reduce poverty, innovate, and build sustainable partnerships.


Member of the UNCA Coalition
Our Values
The African Center operates through shared core values which include:
Respect for and active promotion of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and gender equality
Open exchange of information, knowledge, experiences, and ideas based on mutual respect.
Transparency and accountability. Integrity, professionalism, inclusiveness, and non-partisanship in our work
Dialogue and constructive engagement with partners and stakeholders.
The African Center has three thematic objectives

The African Center takes a deliberate approach to connecting governance to the people through the promotion and implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Thematic Objective 1
Improving Governance and Accountability Systems of Government
The work of the African Center on Governance is underpinned by the promotion of the rule of law, the promotion of sustainable justice sector institutions, and sustainable development to address inequality and reduce corruption.
Our Good Governance approach:
Our approach includes engagement with justice sector institutions, the parliament, the executive arms of government, and professional bodies on issues related to the rule of law, peace and security, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, combatting of financing of terrorism, gender equality, and building of partnerships across different sectors. This approach includes capacity building, the development of national strategies, integrity pillars, and the development of policy briefs, as well as legal and regulatory frameworks in line with international standards and conventions.
The African Center takes a deliberate approach to connecting governance to the people through the promotion and implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
by the governments of African countries while working closely with relevant national, regional, and international organizations. The Center also uses the World Bank Indicators of Governance, namely Voice and Accountability, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, Control of Corruption, Political Stability/Absence of Violence/Terrorism, and Government Effectiveness as tools to conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis of governance situations in African countries. Our Governance approach is engendered as it recognizes that women’s access to quality education, access to justice, and economic empowerment tools are cross cutting issues. Our programs will rely on findings from women’s connect, UN Women, and as Women, Peace and Security agenda (WPS) as a basis to change social norms, create economic opportunities, design technologies that address women’s needs, and develop community support for women.
World Bank Governance Indicators - https://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/
USAID Women Connect Challenge - https://www.womenconnectchallenge.org/
Thematic Objective 2
The Recovery and Return of Stolen Assets
Under the Asset Recovery theme, the African Center works with national, regional, and international organizations and professional bodies in the private and public sectors to design clear and comprehensive legal frameworks for the recovery of proceeds of all forms of crime, and transparent management of the returned assets for the benefit of the victims of these crimes
Our Approach:
The African Center undertakes an analysis of national authorities’ compliance with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, Financial Action Task Force Recommendations, and the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) Principles. The study reviews Reports submitted by State Parties at the Conference of State Parties in line with Article 63 of UNCAC to determine how they have complied with the Convention and what measures need to be put in place for effective implementation as well as transparent management of recovered and returned assets.
The African Center also provides relevant training embedded within the rule of law and human rights principles for law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judges. Some of the capacity building programs focus on:
∙ Financial Intelligence Gathering
∙ Tracing, Seizing, and Freezing stolen assets, funds, or properties
∙ International Cooperation in the provision of mutual legal assistance requests ∙ Management of International Recovered Assets in line with Sustainable Development Goals
∙ Management of Assets Recovered Domestically
∙ Management and Compensation of Victims of Corruption.
The Center builds on the link between the return of stolen assets and sustainable development and works with countries of the South to advocate for expedited mechanisms to return stolen assets that can be used for the benefit of their citizens.

- Camden Asset Recovery Interagency Network available at https://www.carin.network/
- Asset Recovery Interagency Network - https://www.unodc.org/rpanc/en/asset-recovery-interagency-network-of-west-and-central-asia-arin-wca.html
- Civil Asset Forum for Asset Recovery (CiFAR) - https://cifar.eu/
- International Center for Asset Recovery (ICAR – Basel Institute on Governance ) - https://baselgovernance.org/asset-recovery
- Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) Global Forum on Asset Recovery - https://star.worldbank.org/case-study/global-forum-asset-recovery-gfar
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – https://www.unodc.org/
- Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) - https://star.worldbank.org/
- Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) Principles - https://star.worldbank.org/about-us/global-forum-asset-recovery-gfar
- Lausanne Guideline on Effective Asset Recovery - https://guidelines.assetrecovery.org/guidelines.
Thematic Objective 3
The Implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The Center is poised to work with other development partners and civil society organizations to ensure the effective implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN/SDGs). However, we will focus on promoting the implementation of SDG 16
We aim to promote the objectives of Goal 16 which are:
“To promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels”.
The African Center’s work under this thematic area is closely linked to the Governance thematic area and the Asset Recovery outcomes such as the prevention of illicit financial flows, the recovery of stolen assets, the fight against organized crimes in all forms, and the promotion of justice, peace and security in the continent. The UN Sustainable Development Goals can be found here- https://sdgs.un.org/goals.