THE INTEGRATED GLOBAL ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGY: CANADA'S ROLE IN ACHIEVING SUBSTANTIAL AND SUSTAINABLE REDUCTION UNDER UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 16.5

THE INTEGRATED GLOBAL ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGY: CANADA’S ROLE IN ACHIEVING SUBSTANTIAL AND SUSTAINABLE REDUCTION UNDER UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 16.5 1. Salam Ahmed (Paralegal). Toronto, Ontario Canada M4L 3B7 2. Munir Ahmed Dar (Advocate) Darwin’s Law Office, Toronto ON. Canada M4L 3B7 Ø DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17451382 Ø ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1445-4176 Ø Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=7qq7WEkAAAAJ&hl=en Ø ResearchGate ID: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Munir-Dar-3?ev=hdr_xprf Ø Clarivate Web of Science Researcher ID: OHV-2983-2025 Ø Academia.edu Scholar: https://yorku.academia.edu/munirdar Keywords: SDG 16.5, Integrated Global Anti-Corruption Strategy (GACS), Canada, Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO), Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), Asset Recovery, UNCAC, Whistleblower Protection, Financial Reward Program, Market-Creating Innovations (MCIs), Freezing Assets of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (FACFOA). Abstract The global effort to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 16.5 to substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms has largely stalled since 2015. This stagnation highlights the need for a holistic strategy that integrates international legal mechanisms with domestic action, a process in which high-income countries like Canada must take a leadership role. This paper analyzes the proposed Integrated Global Anti-Corruption Strategy (GACS) through the lens of Canada’s contributions and deficiencies, focusing on three critical areas: financial integrity, asset recovery, and incentivized disclosure. While Canada has advanced its legal strategy by committing to a Beneficial Ownership (UBO) registry and strengthening its legal framework for asset recovery (UNCAC, FACFOA), persistent weaknesses in whistleblower protection and the lack of a federal financial reward program compromise its ability to disrupt transnational corruption and meet its global commitments. We argue that Canada’s substantial and sustainable contribution to SDG 16.5 requires immediate, comprehensive action to close these gaps, particularly by adopting a robust rewards-based disclosure model and actively leveraging its diplomatic and development finance capacity to support Market-Creating Innovations (MCIs) in victim states.