Describing corruption as a major governance issue, the CBI Director on Mondayelhi recalled a verse from Indian scripture which says 'if the King is immoral so will be his subjects'.

"Ethics in Governance would hold key to good governance in any society. I am prompted to recall a famous verse from the ancient Indian scriptures which says 'Yatha Raja Tatha Praja', in other words, if the King is immoral so would be his subjects," CBI Director A P Singh said.

In his inaugural speech during first interpol global programme on anti-corruption and asset recovery, Singh said corruption has become "a major governance challenge" and there is no single remedy for fighting corruption.

"The battle against it has to be fought at many levels.

The designs of development program should provide for more transparency and accountability. Systems and procedures which are opaque, complicated, centralised and discretionary are a fertile breeding ground for the evil of corruption," he said.

The CBI director said development of new methods of financial flows and communication technology have made it easier for the corrupt to conceal and stash away stolen wealth.

"On the other hand, differences in legal systems, high costs in coordinating investigations, inadequate international cooperation and bank secrecy have made the task difficult for the anti-corruption authorities," he said.

Singh said, "Tracing, freezing, confiscation, and then repatriation of stolen assets is a legal challenging. Managing the asset recovery investigation is a complex, time consuming, costly and most importantly requires expertise and political will."