On February 12-13, 2019 a Conference on “Asset Recovery in the Eurasian Context: Old Challenges and New Opportunities” was held in Washington, D.C., USA, organized by the Open Society Foundations. Sona Ayvazyan, Executive Director of Transparency International Anticorruption Center (TIAC) attended and addressed the conference. On February 12, 2019, Ayvazyan presented the perspectives and expectations of the Armenian civil society on asset recovery during "Asset Recovery in the Context of Political Changes in Armenia" panel discussion of the conference.

On February 13 she also took part in a briefing exploring approaches to repatriation in Armenia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, organized by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the US Helsinki Commission, an independent U.S. government agency created by Congress. Ayvazyan was among the briefing panelists to discuss best practices and challenges in asset recovery, as well as appropriate policy responses in Armenia.

Sona Ayvazyan, who addressed asset recovery efforts,.offering optimism in the Armenian government’s renewed approach toward transparency and anticorruption efforts, warned of the serious lack of capacity on asset recovery infrastructure in Armenia.. Though the leadership may be serious about removing corruption, discredited judiciary poses serious problems for Armenia’s future anticorruption policies. In particular she said, "With the new government, there came much hope for justice, but also an extreme raise of expectations that need to be met. One of the expectations is the recovery of assets stolen from the Armenian people. Many high-ranking officials of the corrupt regime managed to accumulate wealth both inside and outside of the country, including the U.S. and EU countries. According to global financial integrity, the illicit flow from Armenia during 2004-2013 was $9.8 billion. And it showed growing dynamics over years. Currently, the asset recovery is the priority for the anticorruption agenda of the new government. In its five-year program, which is being discussed on these days in the Parliament of Armenia, the government proposes revision of the legal framework for the asset recovery and strengthening international cooperation as part of its fight against corruption agenda."

Original source: website of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission)
Official transcript, including Sona Ayvazyan’s address
Website of Kazakhstani Initiative on Asset Recovery

Sona Ayvazyan's speech