A guest blog by Bernard O’Donnell, Head of Fraud Investigations at the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Sabine Zindera, Vice President, Legal and Compliance at Siemens AG and head of the Siemens Integrity Initiative.

When companies are sanctioned for wrongdoing, is there a way to turn the punitive sanction into a positive force – not only for those wronged, but for wider business integrity around the world?

Oscar Solórzano, Head of Latin America at the Basel Institute on Governance and Senior Asset Recovery Specialist at our International Centre for Asset Recovery, interviewed Dr Hamilton Castro Trigoso, Provincial Prosecutor of the First Provisional Provincial Prosecutor's Office for Extinción de dominio in Lima, on his experiences in investigating and enforcing asset confiscation judgements abroad.

Bila watu hufiki popote. “Without people or connections you won’t reach anywhere,” said a Tanzanian businessman participating in our recently completed research project on informal networks and corruption.

His words encapsulate something we see time and again in our research on corruption: that bribery is far more than just a brute monetary transaction.

Often more important, and far less studied, are the informal social networks that connect private individuals and public officials.

As world leaders gather this week at COP26 to negotiate their climate change commitments, we ask – will they include a credible commitment to fight corruption?

Because if there is one thing that will scupper efforts to address the climate crisis, it is corruption. Yet corruption is strangely missing from the conversation. Here are some things that deserve to be talked about louder.

In the first such case in the Americas, Peru has issued a judgement ordering the non-conviction based confiscation of over USD 1.5 million in assets frozen in Mexico.

The achievement adds to Peru’s substantial experience and jurisprudence involving its 2019 law of Extinción de dominio. The non-conviction based forfeiture (NCBF) law allows assets of illicit origin to be confiscated in a judicial procedure, even if a criminal conviction is not possible.

Our Collective Action team has launched a Mentoring Programme to support civil society / non-profit organisations that work with the private sector and other stakeholders on tackling corruption.

Through the Mentoring Programme, eligible organisations can gain tailored advice, support and technical assistance from our team's experts in anti-corruption compliance and Collective Action – all for free.

The so-called “tuna bond” corruption scandal in Mozambique has drawn international attention. Twenty people are facing corruption and money laundering charges in the country. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has agreed to pay USD 475 million in fines and write off USD 200 million in debt owed by Mozambique as part of a series of settlements with regulators in the US, UK and Switzerland for its role in the affair.