Francis Burak joined the International Centre for Asset Recovery at the Basel Institute on Governance in September 2025 as a Senior Specialist, Asset Recovery. Based in Bangladesh, he provides mentoring and technical advice to government partners, including the Inter-Agency Asset Recovery Task Force. He previously served the Basel Institute in 2021–22 as a Specialist Adviser in Tanzania.
A practicing Barrister from the UK, Francis has extensive experience prosecuting complex crime. He previously worked with the States of Jersey Government and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), regularly appearing in the Lower, Higher and Appeal Courts. He was the youngest lawyer appointed to the CPS Special Casework Unit in London, handling high-profile cases involving corruption, money laundering, criminal conspiracies and transnational trafficking in drugs and firearms.
As an international adviser, Francis has designed and delivered programmes for leading donors and agencies including the UK FCDO, US State Department, Swiss Government and the United Nations. His work has directly supported more than ten jurisdictions as well as regional and global initiatives. Governments and international development partners have sought his expertise to provide specialist advice and strategic assessments on institutional capacity, country scoping, intervention strategies, impact evaluations and organisational science and design.
Immediately prior to his current role, Francis was engaged by UNDP and assigned to Saudi Arabia’s Oversight & Anti-Corruption Authority (‘Nazaha’), where he provided strategic guidance on anti-corruption, asset recovery, law enforcement and international cooperation.
Francis holds an LLB Law (Hons), the UK Bar Vocational Course and the Caribbean LEC. He also holds an MSc in Public Policy & Management from SOAS, University of London, with specialisation in leadership and strategy, organisational change, public-private partnerships, auditing and compliance, public financial management, and monitoring and evaluation.