New partnerships with India, Paraguay and Peru for training in financial investigation and asset recovery

During 2016, ICAR will be providing capacity-building workshops on financial investigation and asset recovery in India, Paraguay and Peru. 

In India, ICAR will assist the country’s anti-money laundering investigating and prosecuting agency, the Ministry of Finance Enforcement Directorate (ED), to increase its capability to investigate financial crime with international links. In partnership with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, ICAR is planning a financial investigation training for 50 ED investigators over a two-week period. 

ICAR high-level meeting with Ukraine Office of the Prosecutor General

On Thursday 12 November 2015 Basel Institute on Governance Managing Director Gretta Fenner met with Ukraine Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin to take stock of the cooperation between the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) and the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) to recover assets stolen by former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych and his close allies. Both parties recognised the challenges of asset recovery, and the particular challenges of asset recovery in the Ukrainian context.

ICAR supports ICC for a workshop on international cooperation and financial investigations

On 26 and 27 October 2015, the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) supported the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a workshop, held at the seat of the Court in The Hague, on international cooperation and financial investigations. The workshop was supported by the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations and the European Commission and attended by experts from 13 countries and 6 international organisations.

ICAR presentation on global challenges in following the money for the South African Institute for Commercial Forensic Practitioners

Phyllis Atkinson, Head of Training at the International Centre for Asset Recovery gave a presentation entitled “Global Challenges in Following the Money” on 9 October 2015 at an event hosted by the Institute for Commercial Forensic Practitioners (ICFP) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Three-day workshop in Basel on the role of good governance and anti-corruption in the context of national development for senior executives of Thailand

At the request of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) of Thailand, the Basel Institute carried out a three-day executive workshop on the role of good governance and anti-corruption in the context of national development for senior executives from various relevant public offices and related institutions of Thailand.

Training workshop in financial investigations and asset recovery in Uzbekistan

A partnership and cost-sharing agreement was concluded in May 2015 between the ICAR, and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) and the Swiss Co-operation Office under the Swiss Embassy in the country with regard to the PCUz’s project entitled "Support to combating and preventing corruption in Uzbekistan". Experts from the ICAR delivered a training workshop in Uzbekistan during September 2015 after first conducting an initial on-site scoping mission to engage with relevant authorities and to collect facts and figures for developing a relevant training programme.

Follow-up financial investigative techniques workshop within the 3-year initiative on "Mapping and Visualising Cross-Border Crime" in partnership with JDN and the Rise Project

Within the context of the three-year initiative on "Mapping and Visualising Cross-Border Crime” funded by the Swiss-Romanian Co-operation Program which was launched in 2014, experts from the ICAR conducted the second training workshop in Bucharest during 30 September – 1 October 2015. The workshop was once again conducted in partnership with two Romanian non-profit organisations, the Journalism Development Network (JDN) and the Rise Project.

ICAR participates in the 13th Interpol Global Programme on Anti-Corruption, Financial Crimes and Asset Recovery in Senegal

From 14 to 18 September 2015, the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) of the Basel Institute participated in the 13th Interpol Global Programme on Anti-Corruption, Financial Crimes and Asset Recovery in Dakar, Senegal, coordinated by Interpol's Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit in partnership with the US Department of Justice Criminal Division and the Anti-Corruption of Senegal (OFNAC). The five-day workshop brought together some 34 participants from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

The Basel Institute establishes its first country office in Peru

Having been engaged in Peru for a number of years on a series of anti-corruption projects, in particular in relation to the recovery of stolen assets, the Basel Institute is now expanding its programme of work in the country to more comprehensively support Peru in its efforts to devise and implement effective public governance measures for countering and preventing corruption.