The Responsible and Secure Business (NRS) initiative was established in 2009 out of the need to articulate efforts in the country within the framework of the anti-money laundering system, and specifically with the objective of migrating from individual actions to collective actions.

NRS was born as an alliance between the public sector (regulatory and justice) and the private sector (financial and real), to prevent and control money laundering, terrorist financing and smuggling in the business sector in Colombia. This alliance has contributed to the following:

The Government of Panama originally planned to develop High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM) to apply to tenders in the infrastructure. In 2015, it changed the focus to overseeing public procurement by the national Social Security Fund.

Known as the Secretaría de Alto Nivel para la Prevención de Actos de Corrupción (SEPRECO), the Panama version of the HLRM is similar to the Colombian HRLM model. It is designed to be staffed by representatives of Panama’s Anti-Corruption Agency.

Colombia has led the way in adopting and expanding the concept of the High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM). It developed the first HLRM in 2013 to ensure a smooth and fair public tender process for the national 4G roads infrastructure project.

During the 4G roads project, the HLRM was activated about a late modification to technical specifications that cut all but one bidder out of the competition. Working with the bidding companies, experts and government representatives, the HLRM resolved the issue within two weeks in a way that was acceptable to all sides.

In August 2018, the Basel Institute on Governance and OECD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Colombian President and Mayor of Bogotá to promote collaboration in designing a High Level Report Mechanism (HLRM) for the construction of Bogotá’s first metro line.

Co-financed by central and local governments, the 25 km elevated metro line will transport around 650,000 passengers a day. The total cost of this major five-year infrastructure project is estimated at USD 4.1 billion.