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.

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.

Most of the top 10 highest risk countries in money laundering/terrorist financing remain
unchanged for the fourth year in a row, according to the 2015 Basel AML Index.

The Basel Institute on Governance releases today the 2015 Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index, which is an annual ranking assessing 152 countries regarding money laundering/terrorism financing risks. This is the fourth annual release of the Basel AML Index and it continues to be the only research-based rating of country money laundering/terrorist financing risk by an independent non-profit institution.

In early August the Basel Institute participated in the 12th Global Programme on Anti-Corruption, Financial Crimes and Asset Recovery in Botswana, which was coordinated by Interpol's Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit in partnership with the African Development Bank and the Commonwealth Anti-Corruption Centre.

Pursuant to an agreement signed in August 2014 between the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (GPO) and the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR), the ICAR conducted its second 5-day training workshop entitled “Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery”. The workshop was held at the National Academy of Prosecutors of Ukraine in Kyiv during the period 27 – 31 July 2015 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The first workshop took place in January 2015.

The Basel Institute on Governance, together with its partners, the United Nations Global Compact and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developement (OECD), has been awarded a three-year funding of nearly USD 4 million under the second funding round of the Siemens Integrity Initiative.

The funding will support the continuous development of the B20 Collective Action Hub as well as the High Level Reporting Mechanism in G20 countries in a project entitled "Scaling up anti-corruption Collective Action: B20 Hub on Anti-Corruption Collective Action."

From 13 to 16 July 2015, the United Nations Office on Drugs on Crime (UNODC), the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of South Africa (ARINSA), the Government of the Republic of Namibia, the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) and the International Center of Asset Recovery (ICAR) conducted a workshop for senior judges and magistrates from Eastern and Southern Africa on proceeds of crime and money laundering in Swakopmund, Namibia.

At the request of the Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (KANCOR), experts from the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) conducted a series of two back-to-back 5-day training workshops in Kuwait City during mid-May 2015; first, a 5-day training workshop entitled “Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery” to enhance local capacity to investigate and prosecute complex (including international) corruption and money laundering cases and recover stolen assets.

The publication "Strengthening Health System Accountability: a WHO European Region Multi-Country Study" is the output of the latest collaborative project between the Basel Institute on Governance and the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe.

Earlier today the Government of Panama jointly with the Basel Institute on Governance announced the establishment of the country’s first High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM).