Prosecuting Grand Corruption as an International Crime

There are some forms of corruption so grave, whose effects on human life, human rights, and human welfare are so catastrophic, that they should shock the conscience of the international community and mobilise the will of nations to act across borders. Too often, the perpetrators of Grand Corruption are able to use their illicit wealth and power to pervert and co-opt the national institutions that should call them to account. As a result, the worst offenders are always the least likely to face domestic justice. In such cases, when national authorities are unwilling or unable to act, we believe that the international community has a responsibility to step forward. [Akaash Maharaj](https://www.maharaj.org/) wrote this paper for and on behalf of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), the worldwide alliance of parliamentarians working together to combat corruption, strengthen good government, and uphold the rule of law. The paper guides their efforts to build new international instruments to hold kleptocrats to account, to bring them to justice, and to make their victims whole.