OIC Anti-Corruption Summit Seeks Unified Action Across Islamic States

In October 2026, Azerbaijan hosted the third high-level meeting of the heads of anti-corruption law-enforcement agencies of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Delegates gathered to advance the Makkah al-Mukarramah Convention, the first multilateral anti-corruption treaty designed specifically for OIC members. The gathering aimed to streamline cross-border investigations, share intelligence quickly, and accelerate the recovery of assets siphoned by transnational criminal networks.

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The summit brought together more than 250 participants from 46 member and service states and eight international organisations “Today's event brings together more than 250 participants from 46 member and service states as well as eight international organisations,” — Tugay Rahimli. Azerbaijan was elected to chair the OIC anti-corruption bureau for the next two years, a leadership role highlighted by Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev “This convention first was adopted in 2022 in the city of Makkah, of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and this is a new platform in fighting corruption at a regional level,” — Kamran Aliyev. The convention, adopted in 2022 in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, establishes a legal platform that allows law-enforcement agencies to trace, freeze and return stolen state funds without lengthy diplomatic procedures.

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Delegates identified bureaucracy as a major obstacle. He cited Malaysia’s 1MDB asset-recovery effort, which has repatriated roughly 75-80 % of stolen funds—about 33 billion Malaysian ringgit—and, together with U.S. Justice Department actions, brought the total returned to approximately $1.4 billion. The U.S. Justice Department reported that between 2009 and 2015 more than $4.5 billion was laundered through major financial institutions worldwide.

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Ivica Bošnjak, deputy minister of security for Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized the complexity of coordinating 16 police agencies and numerous law-enforcement bodies, stressing the need to refine critical laws and operational strategies.

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Imed Hazgui, president of Tunisia’s High Authority for Administrative and Financial Control, warned that terrorist and organised-crime groups increasingly use advanced technologies to conceal assets and evade sanctions. He urged member states to adopt digital tools, including artificial-intelligence-driven analytics, to predict and counter such threats.

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By consolidating legal frameworks and promoting technology-enabled cooperation, the OIC hopes to reduce the time required for cross-border asset recovery and strengthen collective resilience against sophisticated financial crime. The summit’s resolutions signal a coordinated regional push to close investigative gaps that have historically hampered anti-corruption efforts.

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