There could hardly be a more critical time for policymakers in the European Union to understand how corruption really intersects with organised crime and impacts citizens’ security, prosperity and trust in institutions.

And just as importantly, how to leverage data and advanced tools to fight corrupt networks effectively.

The Basel Institute is proud to be a partner in the FALCON (Fight Against Large-scale Corruption and Organised Crime Networks) project. In this cross-sector EU Horizon research project, a consortium of 25 organisations from different countries is developing innovative tools targeting the intersection of corruption and crime. The Basel Institute’s participation in the EU project is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

At the halfway point of the three-year project, we spoke with Project Coordinator Evgenia Adamopoulou to find out how it is going and what it could mean for the future of anti-corruption efforts in the EU and beyond.

1. What is Project FALCON and what makes it unique as a corruption research project?

FALCON is an EU-funded research project to enhance the fight against corruption and thereby minimise its negative impacts on democratic freedoms, security and people’s trust in institutions.

The aim is to equip law enforcement agencies, policymakers and watchdogs with data-driven tools for corruption risk assessment, investigation support and decision-making. We want to bridge the gaps between policy, law enforcement and technology – gaps that can make anti-corruption efforts uncoordinated and leave law enforcement one step behind the criminals.

The idea is to build a next-generation corruption detection and prevention ecosystem which stays ahead of evolving corruption schemes.

At FALCON we’re focused on innovation. For example:

• We are developing novel, evidence-based indicators of corruption which go beyond perception-based indices.
• We are finding ways to automate risk assessments by fusing structured and unstructured data from a wide range of sources, including public procurement and corporate records, crypto transactions, satellite imagery and open-source intelligence.
• We are using this data to create AI-powered tools that reveal hidden corruption patterns in order to facilitate the work of law enforcement, and test them in real-world scenarios.

2. Why is the EU funding FALCON – what will Member States gain?

Corruption remains a major challenge across Europe, undermining democratic institutions, distorting fair competition and facilitating organised crime. Corruption detection, risk assessment and prosecution remain slow, complex and costly.

FALCON delivers innovative, data-driven solutions which can enhance the EU’s ability to combat corruption effectively.

Here’s why our focus areas matter for the EU:

1. Public procurement fraud costs the EU billions of euros each year. FALCON will provide tools to automatically detect high-risk tenders, favouritism and overpricing, preventing fraud before it happens.

2. Corruption at border crossings enables smuggling, human trafficking and illegal trade. FALCON will help to strengthen border integrity and security by developing AI-powered visual recognition tools, crypto-asset tracking and pattern analysis of illicit financial flows.

3. Sanctions circumvention is a serious risk in the current geopolitical situation. Sanctioned individuals and entities exploit loopholes in financial systems to move their assets under cover. FALCON is developing tools to reveal hidden ownership structures, detect suspicious movements of money and uncover transnational networks facilitating the illicit financial activities of corrupt elites.

4. Conflicts of interest of politically exposed persons (PEPs) can lead to the abuse of public funds – i.e. EU taxpayers’ money. FALCON’s tools will cross-analyse financial records, public procurement data and asset declarations to help investigators detect undisclosed conflicts of interest and safeguard public funds.

Technological tools are just one part of FALCON. The fight against corruption also demands coordinated efforts across borders, institutions and sectors. FALCON supports this by fostering collaboration among law enforcement agencies. At the same time, our research teams help to build capacity by providing training and producing policy recommendations to strengthen anti-corruption frameworks across the EU.

3. How will FALCON ensure the tools will work in practice?

At FALCON, our focus is on delivering tools that can be used in the real world, not only theoretical research. Some are already being tested and refined in real-life pilot scenarios with law enforcement agencies and border guards in Bulgaria, France, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania and Serbia. They include:

• Automated corruption risk assessment, a data-driven platform for risk assessment and investigation prioritisation. This will help law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies analyse public procurement data, company data and border corruption patterns.
• Investigation support platform: A search tool which makes it easy to explore the FALCON Knowledge Base – basically a large collection of data – using ready-made or custom queries.
• Predictive analytics for corruption trends: A tool for predicting corruption risks in procurement processes by identifying high-risk scenarios, such as single bidding.
• Visual recognition for border corruption: This tool aids border guards in detecting suspicious activities by identifying vehicle licence plates.

By testing these tools in simulated corruption scenarios – bribery of an EU official in return for contracts, for example – we can ensure that they are practical, effective and adaptable for anti-corruption experts across Europe.

It’s important to stress that FALCON is committed to developing fully transparent and trustworthy AI tools that are compliant with national and EU regulations.

4. The project is nearly halfway through. How is it going so far in terms of collaboration and outputs?

FALCON is on track to meet its objectives. More importantly, we’re pleased to see the strong collaboration across the diverse consortium involving AI researchers, corruption experts and academics. These groups don’t typically work together – but they should do more!

One of the major achievements has been the release of the first Corruption Intelligence Pictures – detailed studies of corruption trends, schemes and connections with organised crime. These encompass actionable risk indicators for different areas. For example, for public procurement, risk indicators might cover single bidding, buyer concentration, length of submission or decision period, and unusual market entry. Risk indicators at border crossings may include the frequency of entries and exits, length of stay, model of vehicles, etc.

FALCON’s AI and data analytics tools are also taking shape. For example:

• Machine learning models have been trained to detect corruption risks using real world data.
• Crypto-asset tracking and anomaly detection tools are showing promise for improving how illicit financial flows can be traced on blockchains.
• Natural language processing models are under development to enhance the analysis of public procurement records and financial disclosures for corruption risks.

The first pilot tests of FALCON tools took place in January 2025, and four training workshops have reached over 250 participants so far.

5. Any surprises?

Yes! First, while we anticipated hidden links between corruption and organised crime, these links are often more deeply hidden than we expected. This has triggered us to develop even more advanced tools to analyse relationships, map out networks and expose corrupt actors and money flows.

Second, some financial, company and procurement datasets have limited transparency or restricted access. In response, we are developing AI techniques to extract intelligence from unstructured sources such as news archives, leaks and web-scraped financial disclosures.

That’s a powerful lesson on the need for greater access to such data, not only for law enforcement but for research and civil society monitoring purposes.

6. How is the collaboration with the Basel Institute?

The Basel Institute on Governance is a key partner to FALCON and brings valuable experience not only in pioneering anti-corruption research but in working hand-in-hand with law enforcement and policy institutions around the world. As a result, our collaboration plays an important role in connecting cutting-edge research with real-world anti-corruption enforcement. As a globally recognised institution specialised in anti-corruption, asset recovery and governance, the Institute’s expertise has helped ensure that FALCON’s tools are aligned with real-world needs.

Working with the Basel Institute has been a two-way exchange. FALCON benefits from the Institute’s on-the-ground insights about what’s really driving corruption and organised crime, and the challenges faced by law enforcement. At the same time, the project’s advanced tools offer new ways to automate and enhance investigations. This will help the Basel Institute incorporate the latest advancements in AI, data analytics and machine learning into their technical assistance projects with law enforcement and related agencies worldwide.

As the FALCON project progresses, we are working increasingly closely with the Basel Institute. We’re testing corruption risk indicators on real cases. We’re developing policy recommendations based on project findings. And we’re working hard to ensure FALCON’s outputs will be sustained and integrated into ant-corruption efforts beyond the project’s lifetime. Watch this space.

The FALCON project is funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework Program Grant Agreement ID 101121281. The Basel Institute’s involvement in the project is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, the European Research Executive Agency or SERI.