View our December 2018 newsletter here.

Introduction by Gretta Fenner, Managing Director, Basel Institute on Governance:

It’s been a great year is the title of our fourth and last newsletter of this year.

That may sound cynical. We have seen more and even bigger corruption scandals revealed, money laundering risks are on the rise, and journalists around the world have lost their lives over reporting about corruption. This is anything but great.

The great part of the year is that there are significant positive developments that counterbalance these worrying trends. Innovative technologies, increased beneficial ownership transparency and better mining of open-source data are helping to shine light on corruption. We support this with the Basel Open Intelligence tool and training courses on virtual currencies.

Citizens continue to raise their voices and vote with their feet and voting cards to protest against corruption. Our research into social norms and behavioural aspects of corruption help strengthen their resolve. A similar enthusiasm can be felt in all corners of the world in creative and context-sensitive private sector initiatives to prevent bribery in business transactions. We are privileged to be advising many of these through our Collective Action team. 

Finally, we have again recovered more than USD 20 million of stolen assets this year alone through sophisticated asset recovery action in our partner countries.

We are proud of these achievements and look confidently into the new year, hoping we can count on your continued support and cooperation to make life hard for those who think they are above the law.

The Basel Institute team wishes you a happy festive season. Let us know if you have put “Basel Institute assistance” on your wish list this year; we are here to support you.