Home

Open Asset Repatriation System (OARS)

Overview

Corruption and stolen public assets represent an unprecedented problem with a staggering effect on the growth of some developing economies. This theft diverts valuable public assets from intended purposes: addressing social issues and public services. The asset recovery process helps to reclaim and return the stolen proceeds to the victim country from which they were taken. However, the repatriation of the stolen assets is usually complex, lengthy and involves multiple jurisdictions. In addition, concerns remain about repatriating the assets to countries where corruption is still endemic. The lack of transparency and accountability in the repatriation of assets presents a major challenge in the fight against international crime and corruption.

To facilitate transparency and accountability around the disposition of assets returned by the United States to a recipient country, New America aims to build an open-source Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform: Open Asset Repatriation System (OARS) that leverages Corda’s peer-to-peer communication, smart contract and consensus between transacting parties. By providing immutable records of asset issuance, transfer and withdrawal, this platform will give the U.S. Government, the recipient country, and other relevant parties such as civil society organizations a transparent chain of evidence, enhancing transparency and accountability in asset repatriation.