Ghana

African expertise takes centre stage at crypto and asset recovery workshop

Around 40 public-sector practitioners gathered in Luxembourg on 17 September 2026 for the Africa Crypto & Asset Recovery Workshop. The event put African experience, innovation and talent at the heart of discussions on cryptoasset investigations and asset recovery. Held as a side event to the 10th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets, the workshop brought together specialists from financial intelligence units, law enforcement agencies, prosecution authorities, regulators and asset recovery bodies. Participants represented more than 15 African countries. The Basel Institute on Governance co-organised the workshop with the SecFin Africa. It was hosted by Luxembourg’s Bureau de gestion des avoirs. Learning from African experience The workshop was designed around peer learning. Practitioners from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa presented real cases to their regional peers. They spoke openly about the obstacles they had encountered and the practical approaches they had developed to overcome them. The workshop took place under the Chatham House rule. Participation was restricted to public-sector officials to provide a safe space for candid discussion, questions and learning. This practitioner-led approach is central to the Africa Crypto & Asset Recovery Network. The Network recognises that valuable expertise and creative solutions already exist across the continent. Its role is to help practitioners share this knowledge, learn from one another and build trusted relationships across institutions and borders. As H.E. Ambassador Mary Chirwa, Ambassador of Zambia to the Benelux countries, said in her closing remarks at the main conference: I can speak for Africa: it may not have the same resources as other regions, but it has large, young and technologically astute populations – quick to embrace new technologies, question established approaches and find imaginative solutions. Practical tools and international cooperation The workshop also introduced practical tools that can support investigations and asset recovery. - Alexandru Donciu, Virtual Assets Specialist at the Basel Institute, demonstrated free and open-source tools for conducting on-chain investigations. - A representative of the French Gendarmerie and France’s Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets AGRASC presented ASAC. The application guides magistrates and investigators through procedures for tracing, seizing and confiscating criminal assets. - A Europol representative illuminated the work and approach of the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre and its collaborations with global law enforcement partners. The contributions from international partners highlighted the importance of connecting strong regional networks across continents. Cryptoassets move globally and effective investigations depend on cooperation that does the same. Connections that last beyond Luxembourg Many of the participants also attended the main Global Conference on 15–16 September. This gave the large African delegation opportunities to exchange experience with hundreds of peers from law enforcement, policymaking, research and the private sector. These face-to-face connections matter. They build the trust that makes it easier to pick up the phone when an urgent cross-border case arises. Our sincere thanks go to SecFin Africa and to the workshop’s co-moderators, Philippe Pacaud, Operational Coordinator at SecFin Africa, and Simon Marsh, Head of Africa at the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery. SecFin Africa is funded by the European Union, France and Germany. We also gratefully acknowledge the organisations supporting the Africa Crypto & Asset Recovery Network: Kodex, Asset Reality, Tradias, VerifyVASP, Coinbase, TRM Labs, CAT Labs and iSanctuary. Their support helps make this public-sector community and its activities possible while preserving a trusted and product-free space for practitioner exchange. The enthusiasm in Luxembourg also raised an exciting possibility: a dedicated Africa Crypto & Asset Recovery Conference in 2027. Watch this space.

New international project targets corruption risks in carbon markets

Carbon markets are meant to help finance forest protection and climate action. Yet too often they are undermined by weak governance, corruption risks and a lack of transparency. Concerns over the credibility of some carbon credits erode trust in a system designed to channel climate finance and support forest-dependent communities. A new international project aims to address these challenges head-on by strengthening governance and anti-corruption safeguards across forest carbon markets. The Basel Institute on Governance is pleased to join this effort as a project partner, contributing its expertise through the Green Corruption programme. A collaborative effort for better carbon market governance The project, Towards Inclusive Governance for Forest Carbon Markets, is led by Transparency International and funded by the UK Government through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office FCDO Forest Governance, Markets and Climate programme. Running until March 2028, the initiative brings together a consortium including the Basel Institute on Governance, Resource Extraction Monitoring and local Transparency International chapters in focus countries. Together, the partners will work to reduce corruption risks in forest carbon markets and strengthen the integrity of carbon credit systems. The project will focus on three key countries – Indonesia, Ghana and Cameroon – supporting governments, civil society organisations, certifiers, private sector actors and forest-dependent communities to better identify and mitigate corruption risks linked to carbon credit projects. Carbon markets are inherently transnational: credits may be generated in one country, verified in another and purchased in a third. This complexity creates opportunities for corruption networks to exploit regulatory gaps, conflicts of interest and weak oversight mechanisms. The project aims to close those gaps by combining evidence generation, national advocacy and international engagement. Bringing anti-corruption expertise to forest carbon markets The Basel Institute will play a central role through our Green Corruption programme, which focuses on tackling corruption linked to environmental crimes and natural resource governance. Our team is leading the project’s first major output: consolidating available data, gathering evidence to identify typologies of corruption risks in forest carbon markets and developing global, gender-sensitive guidelines to help prevent them. Working closely with partners and national stakeholders, we are leading the organisation of corruption risk identification workshops in Indonesia and Ghana. These workshops will bring together key actors across the carbon market ecosystem to map corruption vulnerabilities in carbon markets systems and identify practical actions to mitigate these risks. The findings will feed into country-specific risk assessments. In parallel, our team is conducting an assessment of global carbon markets governance dynamics and vulnerabilities to corruption. Ultimately national and international assessments will inform the development of global guidelines, which will be designed to strengthen anti-corruption safeguards across carbon markets. These global guidelines will then support advocacy and reform efforts led by Transparency International and its national chapters. We will also contribute to global advocacy efforts by advising international certification bodies and other actors on improving safeguards and governance standards in carbon markets. Dr Amanda Cabrejo le Roux, Deputy Director of the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption programme, said: Carbon markets hold real promise for forests, communities, and the climate — but promise alone isn't protection. Like any system that moves money at scale, they are vulnerable to those who would bend the rules for personal gain. The first step is a rigorous analysis of corruption risks: mapping scenarios and building clear typologies, through sector-wide workshops and consultations with all key stakeholders. From there, those same actors can work together to develop practical mitigation measures — building a system that is genuinely resilient. That is exactly what this project sets out to do. Part of a wider “green” governance agenda The project aligns with the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption strategy, which increasingly focuses on corruption and governance challenges linked to climate change and the global energy transition. Forest carbon markets involve complex financial flows, transnational actors and high-stakes environmental outcomes, making strong governance and anti-corruption safeguards essential. With years of experience analysing corruption risks in environmental and natural resource sectors and beyond, the Basel Institute is well placed to contribute to this work. By contributing our expertise to the project, we aim to help ensure that carbon markets deliver on their promise: protecting forests, supporting communities and advancing credible climate action. Learn more ::: links - Project overview - View the full project overview on the Transparency International website. - Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum - Interested in corruption and governance in the environmental space? Join the Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum, a global community of practitioners jointly led by the Basel Institute on Governance, Transparency International, WWF and TRAFFIC. :::

How can tax authorities benefit from engaging in anti-corruption Collective Action initiatives?

By Salifu Koray, Chief Revenue Officer, Ghana Revenue Authority Speaking at the Basel Institute’s International Collective Action Conference on 25–26 June 2024, Salifu Koray explained how the Ghana Revenue Authority was engaging in Collective Action through a World Customs Organization programme. The Anti-Corruption and Integrity Programme aims to restrict corrupt behaviour and promote good governance in customs operations and administration in Ghana and seven other countries. In a short interview, he highlighted the strong benefits of engaging with other stakeholders in this Collective Action programme, saying: The Collective Action initiative within the Ghana Revenue Authority is yielding dividends. The stakeholder coalition has built a strong force in support of integrity. Stakeholders include the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Ghana Integrity Initiative, the Office of the Head of Civil Service, the Committee of Freight Forwarders and the University of Ghana Business School. In other words, key representatives from the public sector, the private sector, civil society organisations and academia. Specifically, some of the benefits that we have derived so far include: increasing revenue generation for the development of the nation; enhanced image of the Ghana Revenue Authority; a reduction in the perception of corruption; an increase in voluntary compliance. Collective Action impacts positively on organisations, employees and stakeholders. Learn more See more Q&As with leading voices in promoting anti-corruption Collective Action, together with photos and videos, on the web page of our 2024 International Collective Action Conference. Learn more about Collective Action and how to engage on the B20 Collective Action Hub.

Collective Action in West African coastal states: fighting corruption for sustainable and equitable development

This blog by Liza Young, Project Associate for Collective Action in the Basel Institute’s Private Sector team, draws on her newly published Policy Brief in English and French on how anti-corruption Collective Action can help West African coastal states achieve their development potential. Africa is estimated to lose an unbelievable USD 88.6 billion 3.7% of Africa’s GDP each year to illicit financial flows, of which corruption is a major component. Rooting out corruption is a collective effort, and the private sector has a major role to play in laying down the foundations for clean business environments and sustainable development. That is why anti-corruption Collective Action has got so much to offer Africa, and in particular West African coastal states keen to maximise their clear economic potential. As the spectrum of Collective Action initiatives is quite large, it allows for innovative measures where governments, companies and civil society organisations CSOs can join forces toward a common objective, despite their different perspectives. This collaborative approach therefore provides a fertile ground for constructive dialogue between like-minded stakeholders, as well as an opportunity to understand the private sector’s language and reality. The voice of civil society CSOs have an important part to play in bringing Collective Action to the fight against corruption in West Africa. They must continue to initiate, facilitate and engage in Collective Action initiatives to help raise awareness and build bridges. Their presence can bring credibility, independent oversight and accountability to the initiatives. Our Private Sector team’s latest Policy Brief is based on conversations held with CSOs based in Benin Social Watch Benin , Ghana Ghana Integrity Initiative , Ivory Coast Ivorian Youth Leaders’ Network and Togo The Togolese National Agency for Consumers and the Environment . It aims to capture their experiences, challenges and outlook on what the future for Collective Action could hold in the region. Despite their different backgrounds, they are united on one point: fighting corruption collectively by raising the voice of the private sector is an important step to pave the way for sustainable economic growth. Lessons for practitioners The representatives from the above CSOs shared some important insights for their counterparts seeking to develop multi-stakeholder initiatives to address corruption in their contexts. Looking at the big picture, they agreed that anti-corruption Collective Action can play an important role in helping West African coastal states – and other states of course – maximise their economic potential. Bringing together stakeholders from the public and private sectors with civil society promotes good business along with business integrity. Second, they reflected on the important role of civil society in bringing together stakeholders from other sectors to address shared challenges of business integrity and corruption. CSOs can help to trigger and facilitate Collective Action initiatives that fit the economic, political and social context of a given country. All interviews mentioned the vital element of trust. To build trust between diverse stakeholders, they advised trying to find a common language and build understanding of the different perspectives of different stakeholders. Establishing platforms for dialogue can help build this trust, they said, but such platforms need a strong facilitator. Last, many of the CSOs we spoke to live in contexts where anti-corruption laws, institutions and enforcement are not as strong as they could be. In some cases, Collective Action can help to fill gaps in legal frameworks and strengthen implementation. But where legal incentives to resist corruption are weak, CSOs will need to think hard about incentives for different stakeholders to engage. Fair competition, building alliances and shaping self-regulatory standards could all be incentives depending on the context. Get involved and connect with like-minded organisations Another major point of agreement was that working on anti-corruption can, at times, feel like pushing a stone up a hill. Going at it alone can be disheartening, especially in a context where corruption is still perceived as a way of doing business. That is why connecting with other CSOs to exchange and learn from them is important to keep going. It can help build more robust and effective networks and initiatives, especially within a regional context where organisations might be facing similar challenges. At a global level, the Basel Institute on Governance is working to build up a Collective Action community through a novel mentoring programme. The Programme is intended for civil society organisations that work with the private sector and other stakeholders in tackling corruption. It offers tailored advice, support and technical assistance from leading experts in anti-corruption compliance and Collective Action, for free. Learn more Read the full Policy Brief in English and French. It is published by the Basel Institute's Private Sector team with the support of the Siemens Integrity Initiative. To find out what Collective Action initiatives might already exist in your country or region, visit the B20 Collective Action Hub initiatives database. A special thanks to all the civil society organisations that agreed to share their experiences in bringing a variety of stakeholders together to fight corruption and level the playing field: Mary Awelana Addah of the Ghana Integrity Initiative GII ; Fabrice A. Kodjo Ebeh of The Togolese National Agency for Consumers and the Environment ANCE ; Blanche Sonon of Social Watch Benin and Aman Baptiste Ado of the The Ivorian Youth Leaders’ Network RIJLI .

What is an Ethically Aware Supplier – and how does it support business integrity in Africa?

Local certification is emerging as an interesting way for large companies and their supply chains to help address compliance and due diligence issues that can be a barrier to business. A recent Basel Institute working paper showed how local certification programmes developed with a Collective Action approach can help: SMEs to develop and demonstrate robust anti-corruption compliance procedures; ease due diligence for large companies seeking suppliers in local markets; raise standards of integrity across a market or geographical area. The Ethically Aware Supplier Induction EASI programme of The Ethics Institute in South Africa, first developed as a project of the Siemens Integrity Initiative, harnesses this innovative approach. Its expansion into other African countries under a recent grant of the UK Business Integrity Initiative Challenge Fund shows how agile and flexible Collective Action can be – even when working in very different and challenging contexts, and in the face of a global pandemic. Kris Dobie, Manager – Organisational Ethics at The Ethics Institute, gives an insight into the project below: What is the idea behind EASI? Multinational companies want to do business with suppliers that are committed to operating with integrity and that actively manage their corruption risks. This is partly to manage their own legal and reputational risks. From a big-picture point of view, this can have a positive consequence in developing markets: by insisting on high standards of anti-corruption compliance through their supply chains, multinationals can become an important driver of good governance. But in practice, SMEs need support and training. Who better to support SMEs in their compliance journey than their larger customers? What exactly is EASI? EASI helps companies that want to train their suppliers by providing an online interactive short course in business ethics. The aim is to make participants aware of key ethical issues that are relevant to their companies. It is based on the principles of the UN Global Compact and the content is benchmarked against the supplier codes of conduct of several large companies. Members of the senior management of SMEs – with influence over the companies’ business ethics and operations – can complete the course on behalf of their businesses. If they pass the assessment, we certify the company as “ethically aware”. This emphasises their knowledge and awareness of integrity issues relevant to their company and of the main ethical requirements of multinational enterprises. We don’t certify the company itself as ethical. You can find out about the course on the EASI website or watch this two-minute YouTube video: Where do the large companies come in? Ideally, this foundational online training is combined with a live group session where suppliers and representatives of the larger companies come together for a structured discussion on some of the key topics. We find that significant additional learning – on all sides – takes place here. Many of the compliance officers, procurement specialists and internal auditors who have taken part in these discussions tell us how eye-opening it is to learn of the realities faced by their suppliers. Rolling out EASI throughout supply chains Our strategy involved large organisations taking charge of rolling out the EASI programme throughout their supply chains. We started close to home, with the Coalition for Ethical Operations. This is a private sector-led Collective Action initiative that The Ethics Institute facilitates. Its members, who are multinational companies, commit to promoting ethical business across Sub-Saharan Africa and to training their suppliers. We also partnered with the UN Global Compact local networks in Kenya and Ghana. When the pandemic hit and travel became impossible, we managed to free up funding to partner with the UN Global Compact network in Nigeria, as well as the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce in Ethiopia. What adaptations did you make to address covid-19? The meetings went online, of course, and sadly webinars replaced business breakfasts and face-to-face engagements. This was rather challenging to facilitate. Group discussions in person foster trust, whereas building a relationship between strangers on a video call is not quite the same. Attendance and attention were also lower online. Nevertheless, we enrolled 34 multinationals and 82 individuals in the EASI programme across those four countries, and have certified a similar number of SMEs so far. How did you promote the programme despite the pandemic restrictions? We believe that business networks are key to reaching more companies, large and small. After all, they are about business getting together to collectively raise the bar. This is why it has been fantastic to partner with the UN Global Compact networks and with the Addis Chamber. Companies that engage in the EASI programme clearly see its value. One large telecoms company is currently rolling out the EASI programme to subsidiaries and operating companies across its group. If a couple more in this sector follow, EASI will become a form of industry standard. And that’s when tangible change will really occur. Improving together There are however a number of issues we are still grappling with. The feedback we get tells us that this is a really good product, but it still needs to be marketed to take off internationally – and anti-corruption practitioners are not necessarily marketers. We want to strike the balance between making the programme accessible to as many companies as possible, while ensuring they value it properly. Dealing with "products" as an ethics non-profit organisation has proven to be a healthy learning curve. These are issues that I know many fellow practitioners are grappling with in their contexts, as they seek to attract a critical mass of companies to their initiatives. Learning from and supporting each other, such as at the recent peer learning workshops hosted by the Basel Institute or the roundtables as part of their wider certification project, are crucial. We also thank the Siemens Integrity Initiative and UK Business Integrity Initiative for their support in making this idea become a reality for ourselves and hundreds of companies across Southern Africa. \ \ \ About The Ethics Institute The Ethics Institute is an independent public institute with the vision of ‘Building an ethically responsible society’. They pursue this vision by working with organisations in the public and private sectors where they offer a range of services related to organisational ethics, including training, assessments and advisory services. See www.tei.org.za About the UK Business Integrity Initiative and Challenge Fund The UK's Business Integrity Initiative Challenge Fund was launched to support innovative, business-focused, Collective Action initiatives aiming at reducing corruption or promoting human rights to improve the investment climate in emerging markets and developing countries. IMC Worldwide has been working closely with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office FCDO as the Business Integrity Initiative Challenge Fund Manager. Find out more. About the Siemens Integrity Initiative The Siemens Integrity Initiative promotes projects around the world that seek to combat corruption and fraud, supporting educational and training programmes as well as Collective Action, which is building alliances against corruption in a joint effort between business and institutions to establish clean markets and ensure fair competition. See siemens.com/collective-action.

Engaging the private sector in Collective Action against corruption: A practical guide for anti-corruption agencies in Africa

Policy Brief 11: Fighting corruption in West African coastal states: how Collective Action can help

Working Paper 18: Communities against corruption: Assessment framework and methodological toolkit