Learn about the African Center, our mission to promote transparency in asset recovery, and how to get the most from this platform.
The African Center for Governance, Asset Recovery, and Sustainable Development (African Center) is a pan-African organisation dedicated to strengthening governance, accountability, and the rule of law across the continent. The Open Asset Recovery Database (OARD) is our flagship knowledge tool — a structured, searchable repository that documents every significant asset recovery case in Africa from the year 2000 to the present day, accessible to registered users.
Asset recovery — the process of identifying, freezing, seizing, confiscating, and returning illicitly acquired wealth — is a critical pillar of the global fight against corruption. Yet data on Africa's recovery efforts has historically been fragmented, incomplete, and difficult to access. OARD changes that by bringing all available case-level information into one structured, searchable, and openly available platform.
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OARD was designed with four clear, measurable objectives that guide every data collection and publication decision we make.
Build and continuously update a comprehensive record of all asset recovery cases in Africa — covering identification, investigation, prosecution, confiscation, and repatriation. The database covers all African countries from the year 2000 onwards and is updated on a rolling basis.
Enable systematic monitoring of African State Party progress under Chapter V of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which deals specifically with asset recovery. OARD provides civil society organisations, the UNCAC Implementation Review Group, and national authorities with structured, evidence-based data.
Serve as the authoritative, primary reference source for researchers, investigative journalists, legal practitioners, anti-corruption agencies, and international observers who need credible, verifiable information on Africa's asset recovery cases and legal frameworks.
Advance the Principles on Transparent and Accountable Management of Returned Assets (GFAR Principles 4), ensuring that data on asset return and management is publicly available, accessible, and presented in a form that enables meaningful public scrutiny and accountability.
Every case record in OARD captures structured data across the full asset recovery lifecycle. Key fields include:
Getting started takes less than a minute. A free account gives you access to the database for a limited trial period — upgrade any time to continue with full, unrestricted access.
Case searching and browsing requires a registered account. Click Sign Up in the top navigation and complete the short registration form with your name and email address. Your free account is activated immediately — no payment required to get started.
Sign Up FreeAlready registered? Use your email and password to sign in via the Sign In button in the top navigation. Your dashboard will show your recent searches, bookmarked cases, and current subscription status.
Sign InOnce signed in, use the Cases section to search and filter asset recovery records by country, sector, recovery stage, asset type, and date range. Your free plan gives you full search access for a limited trial period.
Your personal dashboard gives you a summary of recent cases, saved collections, active subscriptions, and quick links to laws and judgements relevant to your work — all in one place.
When your free trial period ends, upgrade to a paid subscription to maintain uninterrupted access to the full database. Paid plans also unlock document downloads, data exports, and priority notifications when new cases matching your criteria are added.
View PlansIf you have a question, need to report a data issue, or want to suggest a new case for inclusion, our team is here to help. Visit the Contact page or check the FAQs for quick answers.
Contact UsJoin hundreds of researchers, practitioners, and advocates who rely on OARD for credible, structured data on corruption cases across the continent.
