12. February 2019

Tanzania's anti-corruption authority approves extension to Basel Institute’s asset recovery assistance programme

Gretta Fenner receives elephant sculpture from the Tanzanian PCCB

We are delighted to announce that the partnership between the Basel Institute and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) of Tanzania in support of Tanzania’s efforts to combat corruption and recover stolen assets will continue.

At a meeting and ceremony in Dar es Salaam on 29 January 2019, the PCCB's recently appointed Director General Diwani Athumani confirmed a one-year extension to a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding and a programme of work implemented jointly by the PCCB and the Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss Embassy in Tanzania

Gretta Fenner, Managing Director of the Basel Institute and ICAR, said: 

“Together we’ve broken new grounds in the past three years. Amongst the main achievements are that PCCB is currently bringing the first unexplained wealth cases to Court, has been using international cooperation very strategically in very significant cases, and is using a follow the money approach in its investigation activities in a much more systematic way. What makes us most proud is to see the enthusiasm and professionalism of the PCCB colleagues who have been certified as ICAR trainers in the course of this program; their continued commitment will play a key role in ensuring sustainability and ownership."

The MoU was originally signed in 2015 between the PCCB, Basel Institute and Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs acting through the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) and the Embassy of Tanzania.

In place since 2016, the programme of work is implemented through locally embedded ICAR experts who advise on investigation and prosecution strategies, support the development of policies and procedures, and provide guidance in relation to international cooperation for intelligence and information sharing. 

In addition, the ICAR training programme continues to reach out beyond the PCCB to the prosecuting authority, police, Financial Intelligence Unit and Zanzibar Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Authority (ZAECA).