ICAR training pays off: first money laundering conviction in Uganda

In May 2017, Ugandan prosecutors secured convictions for money laundering in the Equity Bank trial, the first case of its kind in the country. Six of the accused in this trial, involving the embezzlement of $1,450 million from the bank, were convicted by the Anti-Corruption Court in Kololo of embezzlement and money laundering, and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 5 to 12 years. The court ruled that Equity Bank was to receive $1,25 million as compensation, and vehicles, land and about $70 million as additional compensation. 

New collaboration with the Institute for Development Studies (IDS)

The Basel Institute and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) will work together to provide expert support to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the framework of SDC's thematic network on democratisation, decentralisation and local government (DDLG).  IDS is a leading global institution for development research, teaching and learning, and impact and communications, based at the University of Sussex. 

Tanzania and Romania: sustainability of ICAR's Train-the-Trainer programmes

Sustainable capacity building at a national level is a key activity of the Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery. Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programmes play an important role in the process. Between January and September 2017, ICAR experts delivered a series of practical training workshops on Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery in Tanzania to nearly 100 investigators and prosecutors, four of which were also trained to become certified trainers.

ICAR-trained Ugandan prosecutors play key role in another money-laundering conviction

In September, Ugandan prosecutors secured another conviction for money laundering by a former Swedish Embassy accountant, only a few months after the country's first ground-breaking money laundering trial. The accused, who stole almost EUR 1.9 million, was charged by the prosecution with money laundering, embezzlement, forgery and uttering a false document.