The Basel Institute on Governance and the Thai Institute of Directors (IOD), in conjunction with the Thai Private Sector Collective Action Against Corruption (Thai CAC), have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly support the promotion of anti-corruption compliance.

The agreement covers the launch of a pilot project that aims to encourage the local certification of anti-corruption compliance programmes in SMEs, while alleviating the due diligence burden on multi-national companies.

We are seeking an experienced anti-corruption compliance professional to support our fast-growing portfolio of anti-corruption compliance and Collective Action projects.

The role will involve ensuring the delivery of mentoring and online training programmes on anti-corruption compliance and Collective Action topics, as well as contributing to the fulfilment of corporate governance and compliance mandates.

During SDC Governance Week, a cross-agency learning event for staff and partners of the Governance network of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Basel Institute’s Public Governance team will speak about its support to the agency’s development of new strategic anti-corruption guidelines. The process of updating the guidelines aims to reflect evolving risks, emerging understandings of corruption and fresh evidence about effective approaches to anti-corruption interventions.

H.E. Ambassador Stefan Estermann, Head of the Prosperity and Sustainability Division, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, made the following opening remarks at our joint virtual side event on Collective Action at the 2021 Special Session of the General Assembly against Corruption (UNGASS) on 2 June. View the full recording of the side event.

Ladies and gentlemen,

An increasing number of countries are introducing mechanisms to target people who enjoy an amount of wealth that can't be explained by their lawful income.

These mechanisms - known as illicit enrichment laws or unexplained wealth laws - allow investigators and prosecutors to recover assets that have clearly not come from lawful sources without having to prove the specific criminal action that gave rise to these proceeds. As such, they are particularly useful to target corruption offences, where it is often difficult to point to an obvious victim or to a specific criminal act.

The following statement by the Basel Institute's Managing Director, Gretta Fenner, was aired at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly against Corruption on 4 June 2021. Watch the video here.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank you for the opportunity to deliver a short statement on behalf of the Basel Institute on Governance.