Michael Hoenigman joined the Basel Institute in November 2025 as Senior Specialist, Financial Investigations in Mauritius. His work focuses on promoting inter-agency cooperation, providing case-based mentoring and engaging ICAR’s training resources in the country.

Before joining the Institute, he served in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Supervisory Special Agent from 2001 to 2021. In that capacity, Michael held both domestic and foreign assignments targeting transnational criminal and terrorist organisations.

He specialised in financial investigations and asset recovery, targeting illicit drug organisations transporting narcotics into the United States and laundering their proceeds abroad. Michael contributed to the seizures and forfeiture of assets and illicit drugs, which significantly disrupted narcotics organisations based in South America and the Caribbean.

During his deployments in the FBI’s overseas Legal Attaché programme, Michael served as a direct liaison to foreign law enforcement partners through information and case sharing, evidence access and investigative partnerships. His assignments across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Eurasia all yielded stronger intergovernmental partnerships and successful case results.

Since retiring from the FBI, Michael has continued to support law enforcement partners in Africa through assignments focused on combating corruption and recovering stolen public funds. Michael holds a Bachelor’s degree from Marylhurst University in the United States and has received decades of specialised training on money laundering, counter-terrorism and evidence collection and exploitation.