Sawan Gutteea joined the Basel Institute on Governance in April 2026 as Senior Specialist, Financial Investigations for our Green Corruption programme in Malawi. In this role, he supports complex financial investigations linked to illegal wildlife trade, corruption and money laundering, applying intelligence-led methodologies such as “follow-the-money” analysis, asset tracing, financial profiling and social mapping to identify key actors, enablers and the ultimate beneficiaries of illicit financial flows.

Sawan began his career as a Police Officer with the Mauritius Police Force, where he served for seven years. He is an ACCA-qualified professional with over two decades of experience spanning law enforcement, financial investigations and regulatory compliance.

Prior to joining the Basel Institute, Sawan served for over 17 years in the Analysis Division of the Financial Intelligence Unit Mauritius, most recently as a Senior Financial Intelligence Analyst. He led and supported high-profile financial investigations involving corruption, fraud, drug trafficking and money laundering, working closely with national authorities and international partners. He played a key role in transforming financial intelligence into prosecutable evidence. His work contributed to significant outcomes, including asset recovery, criminal prosecutions, arrests and substantial tax assessments.

Sawan also gained private sector experience in AML/CFT compliance with accountancy and audit firm Alliott Mauritius, where he held a supervisory role. He led independent AML/CFT audits, developed compliance policies and procedures, and delivered training to reporting entities.