In these times of geopolitical instability and changing government priorities, business integrity risks being sidelined – just when it’s needed most.

The fight against corruption and financial crime provides career opportunities for people with different personal stories and backgrounds. In this blog, our colleague Tom Walugembe shares his journey from prosecutor in Uganda to asset recovery specialist in the training team of our International Centre for Asset Recovery. He reflects on the personal rewards of his work and the power of training to shape a meaningful path.

Five practitioners from Ukraine’s leading anti-corruption institutions have been certified as national trainers in financial investigations and asset recovery following their successful completion of the Train-the-Trainer programme of our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR).

In many countries with high levels of corruption, there is also a strong demand for government to do something about it. With the right conditions, that can fuel solid political commitments. We’ve seen, however, that even in cases where governments do all the right things on paper – strengthen legal frameworks, establish dedicated anti-corruption agencies, etc. – there's a gap between what they promise and what happens in practice.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Anti-Corruption Collective Action Awards, presented by the Basel Institute on Governance with the support of the Siemens Integrity Initiative.

The awards were announced on 4 June 2025 in a video on social media from Elizabeth Andersen, the Basel Institute’s Executive Director.

A joint blog by Naomi Roht-Arriaza, Distinguished Professor of Law (emerita), University of California Law, and Lucie Binder, Senior Specialist, Governance and Integrity, Basel Institute on Governance.

Who are the real victims of corruption? 

Traditionally, the answer has been “the state.” This stems from the fact that corruption typically involves the misuse of public office and the theft or diversion of public funds. In this legal framework, the state prosecutes the crime, claims the damage and receives any recovered assets.