In what could be a first, a top central government bureaucrat said that the recovery of illegal wealth was crucial to the fight against graft. P K Misra, the secretary of the department of personnel, said on Friday that such property was the "fruit of corruption" and should be seized and attached. Misra was speaking at the valedictory session of the first Interpol global programme on anti-corruption an asset recovery.

CBI director Amar Pratap Singh, who was also present, called for greater international coorperation in the fight against graft. He added that coordination between the law-enforcement agencies of different countries was necessary to trace the path of corruption beyond borders.

In the light of Singh's recent statement on the quantum of slush funds stowed in tax havens, the statements of the two top bureaucrats becomes significant in India's black money issue.

Friday's event was attended by 38 police officers, investigators and prosecutors from various Interpol member countries from across the world, including Australia, Afghanistan, China, Hongkong, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Fiji, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Phillipines and India.