Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) can now benefit from half-price packages for our supercharged open-source search tool, Basel Open Intelligence.

Covid-19 lockdowns haven’t stopped crime and corruption, but they make it harder for compliance officers to do their jobs. This is especially true for SMEs, where corruption risks remain high but resources for compliance are more likely to be squeezed.

Before joining the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery, Tom Walugembe was a Senior State Attorney at Uganda’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. In this role, he secured the first ever money laundering conviction in Uganda in the case of Uganda v Serwamba David Musoke and 6 Others.

This landmark case blazes a trail not just for Uganda but for other countries to prosecute cases of money laundering and recover illicit assets.

In her Annual Report presentation to the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique broadcast on national television, the Attorney General of Mozambique, Beatriz Buchili, emphasised the need for approval of a new Asset Recovery Bill.

This important law will provide Mozambique with more effective ways to recover stolen assets. It also establishes the new Mozambican Asset Recovery Office and Asset Management Office.

The Basel Institute on Governance is delighted to announce it has recently become an affiliated partner to the Network of Corruption Prevention Authorities (NCPA).

Law enforcement officers from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Djibouti, Tanzania and South Sudan last week worked together to solve a simulated investigation aimed at confiscating “laundered” cryptocurrency – entirely online.

In early April, more than 770 public officials across Peru took our latest virtual training course on public financial management (PFM). This free seven-week course is part of a programme financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to strengthen standards of PFM in 11 subnational governments.

We are delighted to release our Annual Report 2019 – view it here.

The report highlights our achievements in the past year, but it also looks forward to the future. It is a chance to reflect on how corruption and governance are changing around the world and how we are adapting to new challenges. It is also a chance to thank, once again, our partners and donors for their unwavering support. 

Last week’s blog about corruption risks in natural disaster situations triggered some interesting feedback. Many observers are seeing the same as I am in the international response to the covid-19 pandemic – namely, that there are striking similarities with the response to earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters in the past.

Can Integrity Pacts stop corruption in Covid-19 procurement? What do they look like? How do they increase trust between governments, companies and citizens? How much money can they save in public tenders? Where have Integrity Pacts been used and what were the results?

The UK government's British Integrity Initiative has announced that from now until the end of July, the Department for International Development will cover the full cost of the Basel Institute’s integrity guidance services for eligible small- and medium-sized businesses.

Companies currently benefiting from the programme, which until now has been subsidised by 60–80 percent depending on the company’s size, will also see their fees waived.