This report by Observatoire ARGA and ARGA Atlas examines how allegations of corruption, fraud and economic crime may be used not only as legitimate tools of criminal justice, but also as instruments of pressure, asset redistribution, removal of business or political opponents, and creation of cross-border legal consequences.
The report focuses on cases where a formally neutral criminal charge may conceal a corporate conflict, property dispute, political motivation or bad-faith interest of the complainant. It identifies procedural indicators of potential abuse, including selective prosecution, disproportionate asset freezes, restrictions on defence rights, artificial choice of jurisdiction, formalistic judicial review, and the premature use of international search, extradition and mutual legal assistance mechanisms.
The publication offers a practical risk-assessment framework for lawyers, human rights defenders, courts, financial institutions and compliance teams. Its central conclusion is that anti-corruption and anti-fraud cases must be assessed not only by the formal legal qualification of the charge, but also by the context, quality of evidence, judicial independence, proportionality of measures and actual international consequences.
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