Enhancing Integrity and Effectiveness of Illegal Asset Confiscation - European Approaches
Trading in Influence is the promise, offering or giving to a public official or any other person, or the solicitation or acceptance by a public official or any other person, directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage in order that the public official or the person abuse his real or supposed influence with a view to obtaining from an administration or public authority an undue advantage for the original instigator of the act or for any other person, is called trading in influence. Trading in influence is also commonly divided into its active form (giving an advantage in exchange for influence) and its passive form (requesting or accepting an advantage in exchange for influence).
Embezzlement – a common corrupt practice is embezzlement of public property. It may be defined as the misappropriation or other diversion by a public official, for purposes unrelated to those for which the assets were intended, for his benefit or for the benefit of another person or entity, of any property, public or private funds or securities or any other thing of value entrusted to the public official by virtue of his position. The embezzlement of property can also occur in the private sector in the course of economic, financial or commercial activities.
The corrupt act of illicit enrichment may be defined as a significant increase in the assets of a public official that he cannot reasonably explain in relation to his lawful income. Illicit enrichment is a particularly controversial act of corruption in the European region because according to some opinions, the criminalisation of such an act goes against the principle of presumption of innocence and reverses the burden of proof.
The abuse of functions or position is referred to as the performance of, or failure to perform an act, in violation of laws, by a public official in the discharge of his functions, for the purpose of obtaining an undue advantage for himself or for another person or entity.