[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":324},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-a-dream-of-fools-foreward-to-our-annual-report-2018-951":3,"news-a-dream-of-fools-foreward-to-our-annual-report-2018-951-similar":62,"i-heroicons:arrow-left-20-solid":319},[4],{"id":5,"status":6,"date_created":7,"date_updated":8,"title":9,"type":10,"body":11,"date":12,"topic":13,"slug":15,"activity":16,"nid":19,"topics":20,"activities":21,"programme":22,"area":22,"websites":23,"language":22,"image":25,"translation_of":22,"countries":36,"tags":37,"authors":38,"images":59,"translations":60,"content":61},9830,"published","2022-05-26T22:56:17.000Z","2025-08-31T23:14:59.000Z","A dream of fools? Foreward to our Annual Report 2018","Blog","As every year when the time comes to write the foreword for our Annual Report, we are filled with pride, gratitude and a sense of satisfaction. It is a privilege to work with passionate people, committed partners and supportive donors, and to work toward a goal that helps make this world a better place.\n\nThis may make some of you roll your eyes. And we get that. It can sound naive, and today more so than in a long time. Working for the good of the world is not trendy in many quarters, and it seems particularly rare among those who are elected to do exactly that. The geopolitical context also seems to indicate that the quality of governance is declining. Systems are infested with corruption and captured by individualistic interests that are far removed from the voters’ voices.\n\nYet it is so important to remember that there is a broader objective to our daily grind, the frustrations and setbacks that all of us in the anti-corruption community experience. And to be proud of it. Because not all is doom and gloom. The rising climate change youth movements, for example, are showing us that energy can be mobilised when we show credibly and based on facts that the collective good matters for all of us, individually and collectively. \n\nThis idea of collective responsibility – and collective gain – and of the broader societal relevance of our work is what has been driving our team since the Basel Institute’s establishment, now 15 years ago. \n\nIn our work with the private sector, we feel strongly that the Collective Action approach to anti-corruption is now practised more frequently and recognised as a critical means to achieve lasting change in our economy-driven societies. In the coming years, we will work with partner companies to firmly enshrine this principle as an international anti-corruption norm so that it can attain its full potential. \n\nSimilarly, through our work with law enforcement, other public sector accountability institutions and non-state actors, we find increased readiness to join forces across institutions, borders and sectors. By that, we mean truly join forces, not just go to conferences together. By way of example, in practice this is enabling us to carry the governance and anti-corruption drive into new sectors, as we have started doing in the area of illegal wildlife trade. And it means that law enforcement is showing increased interest in what prevention departments do, for example understanding drivers of corruption and how this can feed into intelligence-led enforcement. \n\nThe multi-sector and multi-disciplinary approach of the Basel Institute is well placed to support these developments, and we are happy if we can play a small role in fostering such thinking. So yes, we are proud. We are also humbled by the challenges that continue to lie ahead. And we are highly motivated to work with all of you to continue putting hurdles in the way of those who think that making the world a better place is a dream of fools.\n\nTo those we say that we gladly side with the fools.\n\n_Download our [2018 Annual Report here](\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-07\u002FBasel%20Institute%20Annual%20Report%202018.pdf)._","2019-07-22",[14],"","a-dream-of-fools-foreward-to-our-annual-report-2018-951",[17,18],"Reports","Insights",951,[],[17,18],null,[24],"Main page",{"id":26,"storage":27,"filename_disk":28,"filename_download":29,"title":9,"type":30,"created_on":31,"modified_on":31,"charset":22,"filesize":32,"width":33,"height":34,"duration":22,"embed":22,"description":22,"location":22,"tags":22,"metadata":35,"focal_point_x":22,"focal_point_y":22,"tus_id":22,"tus_data":22,"uploaded_on":31},"0b125ce7-7ba2-4580-b0bf-5f12bab072da","local","0b125ce7-7ba2-4580-b0bf-5f12bab072da.webp","tmp.webp","image\u002Fwebp","2025-05-12T21:22:02.000Z",95408,1400,884,{},[],[],[39],{"id":40,"news_id":41,"authors_id":55},1265,{"id":5,"status":6,"user_created":42,"date_created":7,"user_updated":43,"date_updated":8,"title":9,"type":10,"body":11,"image":26,"date":12,"topic":44,"slug":15,"activity":45,"nid":19,"topics":46,"activities":47,"programme":22,"area":22,"websites":48,"translation_of":22,"language":22,"countries":49,"tags":50,"authors":51,"images":52,"translations":53,"content":54},"03bebfd8-0b40-4a2a-820d-b9d9c13b9de6","b0662e2a-864d-4888-a1b7-4342b7570b30",[14],[17,18],[],[17,18],[24],[],[],[40],[],[],[],{"id":56,"name":57,"position":22,"image":58},297,"Gretta Fenner","06f7143f-fe9b-45df-87a0-8c2e8f721109",[],[],[],[63,93,137,162,201,223,248,272,293],{"id":64,"body":65,"status":6,"type":10,"date":66,"slug":67,"title":68,"image":69,"countries":70,"topic":71,"activity":73,"tags":74,"nid":79,"topics":80,"activities":82,"authors":83,"images":85,"websites":86,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":22,"translations":87,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":88,"user_updated":89,"date_updated":90,"content":91,"link":92},9748,"The disruptive force of the covid-19 pandemic is sweeping around the world. Anti-corruption and asset recovery assistance programmes, such as those in which our International Centre for Asset Recovery specialises, are caught up in the waves – for better or for worse.\n\nOur team of asset recovery experts has been reflecting on some of the challenges that covid-19 poses to anti-corruption and asset recovery efforts in our partner countries. They've seen many concrete examples of these challenges already, and helped with creative ways to try to overcome them. But beyond the challenges and the pessimists' gloom, many also see great potential in triggering this traditionally conservative sector to embrace modern times.\n\nWe've put together a [special analysis](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2020-04\u002Fcovid_asset_recovery_analysis.pdf) look at five initial areas for the asset recovery community to consider. In brief, they cover:\n\n1\\. Closing the “digital divide”: necessary but not sufficient? The restrictions on in-person meetings, working in offices and travelling show that investment in technology such as reliable internet and secure email and storage systems is dearly needed by anti-corruption agencies in low-income countries. This has numerous side benefits, but our experts warn that while necessary, technology alone won't overcome the gaps and hurdles along the path to asset recovery.\n\n2\\. Legal hurdles may remain, but what scope is there to streamline procedures? Perhaps video evidence in court hearings, more efficient information-sharing and fast-tracking of confiscation orders for a start. A digital system for mutual legal assistance – long a dream of asset recovery practitioners – would also save time and money in the long run.\n\n3\\. Can pressure from citizens trigger political will – on both sides? How governments react to greater financial and social pressures resulting from the crisis is hard to predict - but in Kenya, for example, the government has already announced the use of recovered assets from corruption cases to fund covid-19-related procurement (see our expert’s [opinion column](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.the-star.co.ke\u002Fopinion\u002Fcolumnists\u002F2020-04-13-putting-money-recovered-from-graft-to-good-use-against-covid-19\u002F)). Pragmatic use of political capital and smart communication about the tangible benefits of asset recovery may be a way to turn around fears that states will marginalise asset recovery efforts and cut funding for assistance programmes\n\n4\\. How does this raise the stakes in the debate over the use of returned assets? Covid-19 is changing the long-standing debate over who has the right to dictate what returned assets are used for. In one case already, it's helped trigger an agreement between two countries. In challenging periods, we are freer to challenge the rules – so what other topics are up for debate?\n\n5\\. How does this change the role of asset recovery in the wider framework of anti-corruption and sustainable development? Recent debates around the benefits of asset recovery for soft assets, such as strengthening institutions and the rule of law, are affected by countries' urgent need for hard assets, or cash. We believe in situational decisions and no radical moves in one direction or another.\n\nRead the [extended analysis here](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2020-04\u002Fcovid_asset_recovery_analysis.pdf). Feedback welcome.\n\nPhoto by [Edwin Andrade](https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@theunsteady5?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText).","2020-04-22","debating-asset-recovery-in-the-light-of-covid-19-1700","Debating asset recovery in the light of covid-19","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F421e3621-1282-495c-bbe5-1f94d2652e2d?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[72],"Asset Recovery",[18],[75],{"tags_id":76},{"id":77,"name":78},1381,"Health",1700,[81],"Asset Recovery and Enforcement",[18],[84],1236,[],[24],[],"2022-05-26T22:55:08.000Z","3d9ff205-1640-4f34-b5b6-86977f51bbd6","2026-05-29T22:21:53.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fdebating-asset-recovery-in-the-light-of-covid-19-1700",{"id":94,"body":95,"status":6,"type":96,"date":97,"slug":98,"title":99,"image":100,"countries":101,"topic":103,"activity":109,"tags":111,"nid":123,"topics":124,"activities":126,"authors":127,"images":128,"websites":130,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":22,"translations":131,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":132,"user_updated":133,"date_updated":134,"content":135,"link":136},9519,"The Basel Institute's Green Corruption programme has recently launched a five-year partnership with the [USAID Indonesia Integrity Initiative (USAID INTEGRITAS)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.kemitraan.or.id\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fusaid-integritas) project in Indonesia.\n\nThe project is a new, [USD 9.9 million USAID initiative](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.usaid.gov\u002Findonesia\u002Fpress-releases\u002Fjan-25-2022-united-states-help-indonesia-prevent-corruption-new-five) implemented by a consortium of NGOs led by KEMITRAAN (Partnership for Governance Reform). Other partners include Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and Transparency International Indonesia (TI-Indonesia). USAID and the Basel Institute have cooperated with the Government of Indonesia on combating corruption for over a decade.\n\nThe Basel Institute's Green Corruption programme Team Leader, Juhani Grossmann, noted:\n\n> It is a great pleasure to be back in Indonesia, working with a 'dream team' of partners to jointly tackle one of the most complex issues of our times: environmental corruption.  \n\nKEMITRAAN Executive Director, Laode Muhammad Syarif, said:\n\n> We are excited about the consortium we have put together for this work, drawing upon our own experience and the work of our outstanding partners ICW and TI-Indonesia on the domestic front, combined with the international expertise of the team at the Basel Institute. We are optimistic about the changes we can achieve over the next five years by bringing our collective expertise to bear, in cooperation with key government institutions involved in corruption prevention efforts.\n\nThe project will focus on preventing corruption in the environmental field, both in the public and private sectors, through a dual-tracked approach of systems strengthening and public engagement. It seeks to improve transparency, reduce conflicts of interest and promote accountability.\n\nThe Basel Institute's Collective Action, Public Governance and Green Corruption teams will support the consortium members, the Government of Indonesia and private and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The scope covers improving integrity systems in government agencies and SOEs, developing targeted anti-corruption public education strategies, and supporting private-sector and multi-stakeholder Collective Action efforts in the environmental sector.","News","2022-04-01","green-corruption-programme-launches-5-year-partnership-with-usaid-indonesia-integrity-initiative-2205","Green Corruption programme launches 5-year partnership with USAID Indonesia Integrity Initiative","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F49435ba6-563e-4726-8ef0-4ba8540b2c5a?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[102],7266,[104,105,106,107,108],"Collective Action","Private Sector","Green Corruption","Prevention"," Research and Innovation",[110],"Partnerships",[112,115,119],{"tags_id":113},{"id":84,"name":114},"Compliance",{"tags_id":116},{"id":117,"name":118},1378,"Public financial management",{"tags_id":120},{"id":121,"name":122},859,"Corruption risks",2205,[104,105,106,125],"Prevention Research and Innovation",[110],[],[129],1,[24,104],[],"2022-05-26T22:51:53.000Z","dfef11db-1bc6-47e9-a61d-93443995484b","2026-05-08T21:11:00.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fgreen-corruption-programme-launches-5-year-partnership-with-usaid-indonesia-integrity-initiative-2205",{"id":138,"body":139,"status":6,"type":10,"date":140,"slug":141,"title":142,"image":143,"countries":144,"topic":146,"activity":148,"tags":150,"nid":151,"topics":152,"activities":153,"authors":154,"images":156,"websites":157,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":22,"translations":158,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":159,"user_updated":43,"date_updated":8,"content":160,"link":161},9865,"The story of José Velásquez, former student of the Public Finance Management Diploma of our SECO-funded Subnational Public Finance Management Programme in Peru, offers an insight into how smart initiatives to build capacity among public servants can have a real impact. José has won a scholarship to continue his studies at the University of Chile. He plans to return afterwards to his home country in order to apply his new skills and knowledge to improve public financial management processes in Peru.\n\n### How does your story begin?\n\nI’m from the countryside originally. I was born in Tamborapa village in Tabaconas in the province of San Ignacio in Cajamarca. I studied there until high school and then my family moved to the San Martín region. I did my university studies in Moyobamba. Currently, I work in the legal advisory area of the Regional Government of San Martin.\n\n### How did the Subnational PFM Programme support you on this path?\n\nIn 2017 I learned about scholarships offered by the SECO-funded [Subnational PFM Programme](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-finance-peru) to study the [Diploma in Management and Public Finances](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002F186-graduates-through-basel-institute-esan-partnership-peru). I applied and won one of the scholarships. The programme gave me the opportunity to study and understand public finance management, strategic planning, results-based management and internal control management. These were all concepts that I had not mastered before.\n\nI also established strong bonds with the Diploma teachers, who encouraged me to continue studying. That is why in 2018 I applied for the EXCELLENCE CHALLENGE of SERVIR, which funds postgraduate studies in the 400 best universities in the world. It is a dream for me to have obtained this scholarship and to be able to go to the University of Chile to do my master's degree in management and public policies.\n\n### How do you see this new challenge?\n\nI'll be away for two years to study for my master's degree at the University of Chile. My commitment is to return to my country and work in the public sector to apply what I have learned. My dream is that applying these studies could contribute in some way to Peru joining the OECD.\n\n### What public sector problems do you identify in Peru?\n\nWe still have a lot of deficits in education, health and infrastructure. I believe that the country's political agenda should mainly promote the issues of health, education, regulatory quality and boost investments. Public budgeting and procurement should be made more dynamic so we can improve public spending processes.\n\n### How do you see the work of a public servant?\n\nAs a public servant, we must give the best treatment to the citizens. It is through each one of us that the State provides quality services. Administrative procedures need to be simplified. In the Diploma, my proposal was the creation of a citizens’ assistance office. This office still does not exist and it is clearly necessary to help guide citizens in their administrative matters.\n\n### What message do you want to give to your colleagues?\n\nTo my colleagues, with whom I studied the PFM Diploma, I want to encourage them to apply for postgraduate studies, to continue developing their knowledge and to seek funding for their studies abroad. Politics is like medicine, in other words, we have to keep ourselves continuously up to date. The State is in a process of transformation, and in order to understand these changes it is necessary to study, update and apply new models and knowledge. I am very motivated because my master’s classmates will be officials from the Peruvian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Central Reserve Bank of Peru.\n\n### About José Velasquez \n\nA graduate in Law from Universidad Alas Peruanas, José Velasquez was born on 15 May 1989 in the Department of Cajamarca in Peru. In 2015, he joined the Regional Legal Advisory Office of the Regional Government of San Martín, working until now as a legal specialist. In 2017, he was awarded a scholarship by the Subnational PFM Program of the Swiss Cooperation - SECO to take the Diploma in Finance and Public Management delivered by ESAN University Graduate School of Business and covering public finance management, administrative law and government contracts. in December 2018, he was awarded the RETO EXCELENCIA scholarship by the National Civil Service Authority to pursue a Master's Degree in Management and Public Policies at the University of Chile.\n\n### About the Diploma in Management and Public Finances\n\nThe Diploma in Management and Public Finances was launched in 2017 with the aim of contributing to public financial management training and specialisation among civil servants and public servants in Peruvian regional and local governments. The training was provided to 246 students from six departments of the country, including civil servants, public officials, academics and PFM professionals. \n\nThe Diploma is over for now, but a recent ground-up initiative of the graduates is currently taking off: the [Public Finance Management Experts Network](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002Fswiss-support-public-finance-management-experts-network-peru), with 200 members and growing.\n\n_[View the original interview in Spanish on the official website of the PFM programme](http:\u002F\u002Fgfpsubnacional.pe\u002F2019\u002F04\u002F29\u002Fentrevista-experto-gfp-formado-por-suiza-obtiene-beca-para-hacer-estudios-en-chile\u002F)._","2019-05-05","graduate-in-public-finance-management-diploma-awarded-scholarship-for-further-study-911","Graduate in Public Finance Management diploma awarded scholarship for further study","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F752bf1a8-892d-4607-83a3-a63dcf759e08?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[145],7487,[147],"Public Finance Management",[149],"Training",[],911,[147],[149],[155],1275,[],[24],[],"2022-05-26T22:56:48.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fgraduate-in-public-finance-management-diploma-awarded-scholarship-for-further-study-911",{"id":163,"body":164,"status":6,"type":10,"date":165,"slug":166,"title":167,"image":168,"countries":169,"topic":170,"activity":171,"tags":172,"nid":188,"topics":189,"activities":191,"authors":192,"images":194,"websites":22,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":195,"translations":196,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":197,"user_updated":89,"date_updated":198,"content":199,"link":200},10564,"_Our Senior Communications and External Relations Specialist Monica Guy looks back on how a curious mind paired with diverse learning opportunities and the desire to make an impact can pave the way into anti-corruption. This article is part of a series on careers in fighting financial crime and opportunities to learn and study with the Basel Institute._\n\nOne of the many things I’ve learned at the Basel Institute on Governance is that rewarding jobs in the field of countering financial crime are not just for those who woke up aged 10 and said: “Mummy, I want to be an anti-corruption prosecutor”. Or who studied business and law with the dream of becoming a compliance officer.\n\nMy own journey has been rather zig-zaggy, from caring for Stephen Hawking to managing multilingual content projects for Google and big companies in the travel and shipping industries. And a lot in between.\n\nEducation and continuous learning have been crucial in giving me the flexibility to bounce from one thing to another and hopefully make at least a tiny bit of impact on the way.\n\n### From dusty libraries to blended learning\n\nI didn’t learn much of practical use during my first degree in Classics at Cambridge. But it was a good way to learn to think, read, write and argue with clever people about the world with all its wonders and weirdness. That’s something I have to do a lot in my communications role at the Basel Institute, though thankfully not in ancient Greek.\n\nMy first master’s in interactive communications at Quinnipiac University was one of the earliest “blended learning” degree courses. I.e. hybrid classes and the (then) revolutionary idea that it’s better to learn the theory in advance and use precious class time to practise and discuss.\n\nWhat was in 2010 the cutting edge of communications now looks like stone-age cave paintings. But it did give me the basics to start building websites (early web design = animated cave paintings) and think a bit more strategically about things like audience, purpose and how communications and social media tactics can be used for good or ill. That has been of real practical value in our efforts to build the Basel Institute’s visibility and reputation over the last years.\n\n### Digging deeper (but I wish Basel STUDY had existed then)\n\nYou can’t be successful in communicating if you don’t understand what you’re talking about. So during covid times I took another master’s course, this time in sustainable development at SOAS University of London. I wanted that deeper understanding of topics like poverty, globalisation and environment that are fundamental to the work the Basel Institute does.\n\nThis degree was fully online and designed to fit alongside a full-time job. But I’ll be honest: if our [Basel STUDY](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fstudy) courses had existed then, I’d have gladly taken them instead.\n\nBasel STUDY – that's our postgraduate programmes with the University of Basel: they are six months, hands-on, with live classes and in-person meetings, top-notch instructors and a diverse group of other participants with real-world experience. That’s a lot more fun, useful and digestible than a two-year master's degree, plus easier to combine with other modules and qualifications.\n\n### Free or low-cost learning\n\nI absolutely know that I’ve been privileged to be able to study at good universities, with grants and jobs to pay the way.\n\nBut I’ve also learned a lot through MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) and other free or low-cost online learning opportunities from organisations like Coursera and the University of Leiden. And of course the crème de la crème of eLearning: our own free [Basel LEARN courses](https:\u002F\u002Flearn.baselgovernance.org\u002F) on countering financial crime.\n\n### A desire to learn\n\nAll this to say that you don’t need to be a “financial crime professional” to play a part in making the world a better place.\n\nJust as you don’t need to be a “communications professional” to communicate effectively about countering corruption, fostering good governance, catalysing asset recovery and all the other difficult but worthwhile things we do here in Basel and around the world.\n\nWhat you do need is a desire to learn – from courses, peers and colleagues.\n\n### Join in\n\nMy “call to action”? Take a look at the opportunities we offer at the Basel Institute for individuals who also burn to learn about countering corruption and financial crime and build practical skills they can apply in their daily work:\n\n*   [Basel LEARN](https:\u002F\u002Flearn.baselgovernance.org\u002F) – our online training and learning hub with free eLearning courses and lots more\n*   [Basel STUDY](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fstudy) – our new academic programmes with the University of Basel on anti-corruption and asset recovery\n*   Our forthcoming open course on [Introduction to blockchain: crypto investigation and AML compliance](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcrypto-aml-training)","2025-06-26","not-just-for-lawyers-learning-your-way-into-anti-corruption-2822","Not just for lawyers: learning your way into anti-corruption","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F99b2b185-92d4-46cc-8c21-6b0c8f20cf39?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[14],[18],[173,177,181,185],{"tags_id":174},{"id":175,"name":176},982,"Anti-corruption",{"tags_id":178},{"id":179,"name":180},867,"Financial crime",{"tags_id":182},{"id":183,"name":184},1300,"Education",{"tags_id":186},{"id":187,"name":149},1372,2822,[190],"Corruption Prevention and Public Governance",[18],[193],1346,[],"English",[],"2025-07-13T11:42:47.000Z","2026-05-29T22:22:37.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fnot-just-for-lawyers-learning-your-way-into-anti-corruption-2822",{"id":202,"body":203,"status":6,"type":10,"date":204,"slug":205,"title":206,"image":207,"countries":208,"topic":209,"activity":210,"tags":211,"nid":212,"topics":213,"activities":214,"authors":215,"images":216,"websites":217,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":22,"translations":218,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":219,"user_updated":89,"date_updated":220,"content":221,"link":222},9523,"Initiatives such as [International Women’s Day](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.internationalwomensday.com\u002F) and the [International Gender Champions](https:\u002F\u002Fgenderchampions.com\u002F) Network, of which our Managing Director is a member, are helping to shift the needle towards a world free of gender-based discrimination. So are moves to [mainstream gender](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.u4.no\u002Ftopics\u002Fgender) in development programmes, including those focused on anti-corruption.\n\nThese initiatives not only demand commitments and accountability on gender inclusion, but importantly trigger discussions. One such debate, to which we believe we can usefully contribute our personal experiences, is that of women in anti-corruption enforcement roles.\n\n### Gender at the Basel Institute\n\nOur Institute has an equal male-female balance across all our headquarter-based and field operations: exactly 51 men and 51 women at the end of 2021.\n\nMany of our financial investigators and asset recovery specialists engaged in training and mentoring in our partner agencies in Africa, Latin America and Central Europe are female. They span a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds. Our younger specialists often work hand in hand with older male law enforcement counterparts. Others were among the first women to enter traditionally male-dominated professions, such as in the police or as public prosecutors.\n\nHow and why did they choose their careers? What were their experiences and barriers, as women? Should we actively encourage women to take up enforcement roles in agencies mandated to tackle corruption, or in the public prosecution service? And if so, how?\n\nOpinions on these questions differ, but the overall attitude at the Basel Institute is overwhelmingly positive and pragmatic. Below, we briefly share some of our perspectives in the hope that these help trigger similar conversations among our partners and the wider community. And we would love to hear your thoughts too, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch through social media or in any other way.\n\n### Formal and cultural barriers are breaking down…\n\nIn terms of gender diversity, the anti-corruption field is changing fast and for the better.\n\nBarriers to women entering and advancing in the field are falling away, including both formal rules and biased attitudes. Condescending comments to (often younger) women – “bring me a coffee, dear”; “don’t tell me _you’re_ my lawyer?” – are less and less tolerated in our collective experience. The men who make such comments are dying out.\n\nThis positive trend is of course not happening at an equal pace across the world, or fast enough for some. But it is happening.\n\n### … yet some prejudices still remain\n\nThe hardest barriers to change are the prejudices that remain unspoken, like the idea that women cannot deal with the long hours that could be involved in criminal prosecutions, or are not suited to the cut-and-thrust of the criminal underworld.\n\nA common unspoken fear is that a female staff member will become pregnant and leave the department short-staffed, especially in countries and organisations with outdated labour rules on parenting. Here is perhaps one area where better formal laws and state support mechanisms for maternity\u002Fpaternity leave and childcare can help.\n\n### The family effect\n\nNotwithstanding the caveats around prejudices, family does have a disproportionate effect on many women’s career choices and experiences. This includes their decisions to embark on potentially high-workload careers in enforcement. Some women miss out on taking specialised courses or new job opportunities in other countries or even other regions, either because their spouses would not support it or out of consideration for their families. Even these days, it is less commonly the case for men to miss out on such opportunities for family reasons. And mothers, especially single mothers or those without other support, may have to work much harder than their male counterparts – on far less sleep.\n\nOn the positive side, strength, endurance and the ability to multi-task are often the result. These are essential skills in many anti-corruption enforcement or prosecution roles, which involve keeping many plates spinning at once.\n\n### Career choices and the female edge\n\nAll of our specialists chose their careers in enforcement or the law out of passion and conviction, and were not put off by what appeared a male-dominated world. For many, it was a dream from a young age. Others drifted in from other domains, only to realise that this was the career that matched their skills and desire for variety and satisfaction.\n\nMany feel that their natural empathy helps them better understand and gain the trust of victims and witnesses in some contexts. Fine attention to detail – dare we say this is more common among women than men? – is another useful characteristic in corruption and money laundering investigations and prosecutions. So while in some situations and professions, being female can be seen as a disadvantage, among our female staff many felt their gender gave them a special edge.\n\n### Promoting meaningful inclusion\n\nWhat many women in such roles find unhelpful is to be given a false edge. Many of our female staff have held senior positions at anti-corruption agencies or prosecutorial authorities. They know very well that women are typically less well represented in the upper levels of what is often still a rigid hierarchy.\n\nYet while measures such as quotas for women’s inclusion have a role to play in some contexts, they may risk raising doubts about whether a woman really did gain her position on merit alone. These kinds of doubts are unhelpful in promoting the respect and confidence that women in these roles deserve and need.\n\nOur own Institute’s exact gender balance is not the result of a deliberate quota, but of our approach to recruitment: we really do choose the best candidate for the position, regardless of gender or any other factor.\n\nOpen and equal access to education, both general and specialist, is crucial to helping more women gain the skills and knowledge they need to participate meaningfully in senior legal or enforcement roles. In our small way, we contribute by (for example) making our [eLearning courses on Basel LEARN](https:\u002F\u002Flearn.baselgovernance.org\u002F) free to all, and by paying close attention to the gender balance of beneficiaries of our training programmes.\n\n### Anti-corruption needs more women, but also more men\n\nAs to whether we should be doing more to encourage more women to enter anti-corruption professions, the answer is of course yes – but we also need to encourage more men to do the same.\n\nInvestigators, prosecutors, judges, analysts, forensic accountants: all of these are on the front lines of fighting corruption. Their ranks need serious reinforcement if we are to fight back against the corruption that is undermining the attainment of just and equal societies. Societies where people of all backgrounds and genders have the opportunity to thrive.","2022-03-07","women-in-anti-corruption-enforcement-personal-perspectives-2191","Women in anti-corruption enforcement: personal perspectives","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F7e738abe-ded5-4052-b8c5-3c05917e7f1c?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[72],[18],[],2191,[81],[18],[],[],[24],[],"2022-05-26T22:51:57.000Z","2026-05-29T22:21:39.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fwomen-in-anti-corruption-enforcement-personal-perspectives-2191",{"id":224,"body":225,"status":6,"type":10,"date":226,"slug":227,"title":228,"image":229,"countries":230,"topic":231,"activity":232,"tags":233,"nid":236,"topics":237,"activities":238,"authors":239,"images":241,"websites":242,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":22,"translations":243,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":244,"user_updated":89,"date_updated":245,"content":246,"link":247},9749,"Governments are already contemplating life after lockdown and are keen to permit as many businesses as possible to resume operations, ramp up global trade once more, and to galvanise their economies as best they can - even as forecasts about global recession get bleaker by the day.\n\nAs economic activity resumes, what will be the effects of the pandemic on the health and well-being of corporate integrity standards and anti-corruption compliance? What support will companies need or want in the post-covid economic reality? \n\nDoes Horrid History Help?\n-------------------------\n\nLooking forward makes it tempting for policy makers to look back to similar periods of economic misery such as the fallout following the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, or the long shadow of the economic downturn after the financial crisis in 2008. Whatever these new or re-cycled economic recovery programmes entail, there are bound to be implications for anti-corruption compliance. Laws introducing new compliance standards followed the 2008 financial crisis, but the changes experienced by companies in the last 10 years or so that have influenced anti-corruption compliance are profound and exceed the scope of the policy making that has followed these historical examples.\n\nThese changes were not only the result of new laws around the globe criminalising corporate bribery inspired by the [OECD Bribery Convention](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.oecd.org\u002Fcorruption-integrity\u002Freports\u002Fconvention-combating-bribery-foreign-public-officials-international-business-transactions-aci.html) and the ensuing explosion of interest in anti-corruption compliance. They were also more comprehensive and included:\n\n*   digital developments in all aspects of business conduct, such as interacting with customers, suppliers and other third parties;\n*   broader questions of the company’s role in society;\n*   corporate governance;\n*   behavioural science.\n\nThese are just some of the transformations that have influenced anti-corruption compliance, ethics and the notion of acting with integrity over the last decade.\n\nDefault positions\n-----------------\n\nSome of these developments might be ditched, diluted or extended in the coming years, with implications for corporate standards on ethics and integrity. It’s not likely to be all bad news. It may be a rather mixed bag of opportunities and potential pitfalls and backtracking. Here are some thoughts on some possible scenarios from that mixed bag:\n\n### The law will remain the law\n\nIf it turns out that an organisation paid bribes, perpetrated fraud or tried to shore up its finances through improper practices allegedly as a result of the hardships caused by the pandemic, covid-19 will not provide a justification. Enforcement of laws addressing corruption and other forms of corporate crime will continue. Companies should not therefore neglect their anti-corruption implementation efforts. It might in fact be a time to consider more collaborative approaches like Collective Action – see below.\n\nProsecution authorities might be keen to get back to work, but some governments may inflict financial cuts that could affect the capacity of law enforcement to pursue investigations. Government cuts to stymie effective enforcement or weak political will to support anti-corruption laws are nothing new, as [OECD reviews on enforcement](http:\u002F\u002Fwww.oecd.org\u002Fcorruption\u002FFighting-the-crime-of-foreign-bribery.pdf) of anti-bribery laws indicate, but may be more evident in a post-covid world. Increased corporate pressure on home governments to support efforts to re-establish business in foreign markets could see backtracking by some governments when it comes to pursuing corporate corruption cases.\n\n### Survivors due to sustainable principles\n\nCorporate leaders who are genuinely convinced that integrity in business is essential to success are well placed to weather the effects of the economic downturn and get ahead in the post-covid economic environment. This is because such companies are more likely to have a culture that welcomes employees “speaking up” and actively listens when they do. Being open to receiving new ideas and engaging with employees to find solutions and suggestions encourages innovation.\n\nIn other words, companies that can adapt, are agile and are known to have ethical and sustainable approaches to business, including strong anti-corruption compliance principles, have a competitive advantage. They may even have undergone similar challenges in the past and learned from their experiences when developing enhancements to their ethics and compliance programme.\n\nRobust principles aren’t always enough to keep a company alive. Some industry sectors are more vulnerable than others, and companies with financial or other problems might also struggle however good their compliance programme is. Flexibility and continuity planning based on a robust [business continuity plan](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fbroken-beamers-and-more-shining-light-business-continuity-plans-and-compliance) that envisages a wide variety of serious risk scenarios may also give some companies the edge to bounce back more quickly than their competitors.\n\nFrom an anti-corruption perspective, companies that have well-designed and mature compliance programmes are potential mentors for their supply chains and business partners: they represent the good examples and offer inspiration to others. They can help others to meet the same high standards and create a level playing field by sharing and collaborating in Collective Action.\n\n### More state-owned companies\n\nAs governments promise ever larger sums of money and rescue packages to shore up their economies, there will be a surge in state support and bail-outs of some industries. This will lead to an increase in government influence in company ownership. The high levels of corruption risks in SOEs are well documented - see the OECD’s international standards [here](http:\u002F\u002Fwww.oecd.org\u002Fcorporate\u002FOECD-Guidelines-Anti-Corruption-Integrity-State-Owned-Enterprises.htm) and [here](http:\u002F\u002Fwww.oecd.org\u002Fcorporate\u002Fstate-owned-enterprises-and-corruption-9789264303058-en.htm).  Increased due diligence and a critical eye on governance will be crucial for any organisation entering into business with an SOE. This is essential in any case to properly identify and mitigate bribery risks, but especially important with new SOEs that emerge from the covid-19 crisis. Message to CEOs: don’t assume that an SOE that was previously privately held still has the same ethical standards in government hands – you may be in for a rude and costly awakening.     \n\n### SMEs will need support to attract investment and enter new markets\n\nThere can be little doubt that many micro or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will not survive either the lockdown or the resulting economic meltdown.  SMEs that do manage to stay in business may not have anti-corruption compliance at the top of their “to do” lists, but business survival mode should not be at the expense of good practices.\n\nIn any case, smart SMEs can use their compliance and anti-corruption credentials to make themselves more attractive to investors, enter into business partnerships and develop their capacity to enter new markets. Schemes like the UK’s [Business Integrity Initiative](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fcompliance\u002Fsme-guidance-services) are designed to support SMEs do exactly that.\n\n### Increased vertical integration\n\nThe pandemic lockdowns soon revealed weaknesses in supply chains and reliance on a single source for essential components and products. Governments, citizens and some companies were taken aback by the deleterious knock-on effects of having outsourced production to suppliers that had to cease production due to the pandemic. This led to unethical behaviour in some cases – including accusations of “piracy” – and possibly involved bribery in others. Substantial increases in cargo costs as shipping options diminished have had severe consequences for many companies around the globe.\n\nAlready before covid-19, large companies were increasingly aware of such dilemmas and choke points. So they may well now speed up decisions to own more - or all - of their supply chains to avoid such risks in future. For integrity and anti-corruption compliance this could have various implications:\n\n*   Current anti-corruption laws and compliance standards make companies responsible for third parties that offer, pay or promise improper advantages to government officials. Having a coherent and comprehensive anti-corruption compliance management system implemented throughout an integrated chain of companies would be a dream come true for a chief compliance officer. Alas, achieving a homogenous, fully implemented set of standards is likely to be as challenging as ever. Streamlining of ownership won’t remove all the factors that determine bribery risks  - such as the diversity of the supply chain or its sub-sectors, different business models and the locations where business is conducted.\n*   The reputation risks in vertically integrated structures could be affected in both directions. On the one hand, the company will have more reputation to lose if a scandal breaks, and so might be more motivated to protect it with a decent compliance programme. On the other hand, the capacity to cover it up and manage the disassociation process may be greater in a complex structure.    \n*   The immense economic power that these vertical structures are likely to wield could raise corruption risks. This could arise through the leverage that such conglomerates can exert when it comes to local prosperity and employment, enabling them to demand special conditions from local and national governments. These could relate to financial advantages such as tax privileges, or preferential terms for permits or licences that will induce the conglomerate to keep operating in certain cities or regions. Examples of such behaviours abound in countries where multinationals have already paved the way with such requests. To expect highly powerful conglomerates to act with impeccable ethical standards at all times and throughout their operations would be naïve. Good governance, robust anti-bribery laws and effectively implemented anti-corruption compliance standards are therefore essential to hold such organisations to account.  \n*   Antitrust issues seem to have been less of a concern to competition authorities compared to horizontal risks - at least so far - but this may change if vertical integration becomes more common and hinders competition.\n\n### Special treatment for strategic industries?\n\nPolitical considerations about what is a key or strategic industry post-covid-19 might change in response to lessons learned from weaknesses in public health systems, supply chains and procuring essential goods. Experience shows that strategic industries often enjoy a proximity to governments that can be unhealthy when it comes to transparency, bribery risks and competition. The use of lobbyists by strategic industries can also raise additional challenges. Due diligence, robust procedures and good advice on how to handle potential risks will be invaluable.\n\nA perfect storm is best weathered together\n------------------------------------------\n\nIt almost goes without saying that increased vertical integration with an SOE at the top of the chain in a newly designated strategic sector would be the perfect anti-corruption compliance storm. It may or may not be a realistic scenario. But before compliance goes under and is drowned in such a tempest, there are opportunities for anti-corruption compliance in whatever the new economic reality turns out to be.\n\nOne such opportunity is [Collective Action](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fcollective-action). In an economic tight spot, the need for cost-effective solutions to compliance issues is more pressing than ever. Anti-corruption Collective Action not only between the private sector and governments, but also between private sector actors themselves, can offer opportunities to address issues of common interest in a cost-effective and pragmatic way.\n\nObvious issues that are best tackled together could be identifying and eliminating new risks from new ways of working, or sharing ideas on the best training practices for a weakened supply chain. For examples and advice on this area, the Basel Institute hosts the [B20 Collective Action Hub](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fnode\u002F1095) and offers free advice on anti-corruption Collective Action.\n\nAfter the storm\n---------------\n\nThe covid-19 pandemic has destroyed lives and livelihoods around the world, and will continue to do so in the future. Yet companies can also take the post-covid world as an opportunity not just to start operating at full power once more but to reconsider how they do business and how their anti-corruption and compliance programmes fit into this new world order. Establishing a strong, ethically based culture to develop business and enter new markets will be an investment worth making.\n\nThe Basel Institute has worked with companies and other organisations of all sizes, sectors and from around the world for almost 20 years to help [prevent or weather compliance and corruption crise](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fcompliance)s. We know how hard it is for organisations to be under immense pressure, juggling multiple issues while working to stay in business and regain customers in the face of fierce competition. And we know that compliance officers are going to have a challenging time keeping their company’s integrity and anti-corruption compliance steady against the wind and waves of the post-covid world. Whatever the future holds – and we’re still being told that the only certainty is uncertainty – the need for good compliance officers with pragmatic and solid approaches will remain.\n\nContact our Head of Compliance, Corporate Governance and Collective Action [Gemma Aiolfi](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fabout\u002Fpeople\u002Fgemma-aiolfi) if you feel like you’re cast out at sea and would like some advice on compliance needs and opportunities in the post-covid world.\n\n[Download a PDF of this article](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2020-04\u002Fcompliace-post-covid.pdf). Photo by [Clément Falize](https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@centelm?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText).","2020-04-14","here-today-and-gone-tomorrow-integrity-and-anti-corruption-in-the-private-sector-post-covid-19-1566","Here today and gone tomorrow? Integrity and anti-corruption in the private sector post covid-19","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F35acc94a-f4f1-4b3d-b348-6c4d5b7fbdd3?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[104,105],[18],[234],{"tags_id":235},{"id":77,"name":78},1566,[104,105],[18],[240],1237,[],[24,104],[],"2022-05-26T22:55:09.000Z","2026-04-27T21:02:02.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fhere-today-and-gone-tomorrow-integrity-and-anti-corruption-in-the-private-sector-post-covid-19-1566",{"id":249,"body":250,"status":6,"type":10,"date":251,"slug":252,"title":253,"image":254,"countries":255,"topic":257,"activity":258,"tags":259,"nid":260,"topics":261,"activities":263,"authors":264,"images":266,"websites":22,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":195,"translations":267,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":268,"user_updated":43,"date_updated":269,"content":270,"link":271},10567,"Today, the Basel Institute on Governance jointly published a report with Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention and State Audit Service on corruption risks in Ukraine's civil infrastructure restoration efforts. \n\nWith damage from the Russian aggression estimated to exceed EUR 500 billion, safeguarding state and foreign donor investments in restoration projects is imperative. \n\nThe report highlights 10 key priority risks and suggests mitigation measures. These cover areas such as establishing clear prioritisation criteria for projects, improving public procurement processes and strengthening oversight for construction projects.\n\nThe report, _Assessment of corruption risks in the construction, reconstruction and renovation of civilian infrastructure of Ukraine_, is available [here in Ukrainian](https:\u002F\u002Fnazk.gov.ua\u002Fpdfjs\u002F?file=\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002FPages\u002Fa6\u002F84\u002Fa684c9bcc3dd2ba5e6135be3f225c688759f81ac32d035fb14ef47fad29dddbf2744054.pdf) on the NACP website. The Basel Institute and our Kyiv-based team contributed to its development with the support of Switzerland.\n\nThe launch event brought together key stakeholders in the restoration process, including Members of Parliament, representatives of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, the Antimonopoly Committee, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, as well as representatives of local self-government and the private sector.\n\nJuhani Grossmann, who leads the Basel Institute's support to Ukraine on anti-corruption, delivered introductory remarks highlighting the centrality of a robust and independent anti-corruption infrastructure to safeguard restoration funds. These are found below:\n\n> Dear colleagues, dear friends,\n> \n> It is a pleasure to be with you today and discuss this crucial topic: restoring Ukraine's infrastructure and services efficiently and transparently, making the best use of limited funds.\n> \n> Allow me to start by acknowledging the exceptionally challenging circumstances you operate under and my appreciation for your continued bravery in the light of seemingly impossible obstacles.\n> \n> As members of the European family, your sacrifices made at the front are the investment in our collective European security. You are protecting the family, a fact which we have to treat with respect. It is my ardent hope that we will be able to honour these sacrifices by jointly building a Ukrainian future that makes today’s deprivations worthwhile.\n> \n> Family members support each other, and so we at the Basel Institute seek to support you. A top priority for us is to provide the tools you need in the face of unprecedented challenges.\n> \n> Those of us not in the military space provide support to the extent of our own capacity. For us at the Basel Institute, that means supporting your efforts to combat corruption – an enemy you have been fighting for decades, and an enemy that continues to have the potential to threaten your ability to mount an effective defence and restoration of your country today.\n> \n> Corruption is such a complicated topic: most of us just want to wish it away, like a bad dream, but unfortunately, it continues to be a reality. That does not mean it is stagnant. Like any enemy, it adapts, mutates, strengthens or weakens, depending on how we treat it.\n> \n> Ukraine’s relentless fight against corruption over the last decade has meant that you, in turn, have been able to hone your anti-corruption weapons. Conceptually similar to your relentless military innovation, you have step by step built your anti-corruption arsenal to a degree where Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure – consisting of specialised agencies, decentralised corruption prevention officers, robust civil society and independent media – met some of the highest global standards and often exceeded that of Western counterparts.\n> \n> There is a dedicated international standard about the independence of anti-corruption agencies, called the [Jakarta Principles](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unodc.org\u002Fdocuments\u002Fcorruption\u002FWG-Prevention\u002FArt_6_Preventive_anti-corruption_bodies\u002FJAKARTA_STATEMENT_en.pdf). This highlights the importance of ensuring independence in the appointment of the leadership, continuity in the agencies’ work and budgetary autonomy, as well as protecting employees from malicious civil and criminal proceedings.\n> \n> I don't say this lightly: when I travel around the world to the countries with which I work, and tell them about the fact that you continue to robustly pursue corruption during a full-scale war, my colleagues tell me they wish they had your anti-corruption infrastructure.\n> \n> We understand that this anti-corruption infrastructure is not something that was achieved easily. Rather, you had to fight for every law to remain intact, strengthen every regulation repeatedly to address residual risk, build and protect every case against obstacles, shepherd every risk assessment to the mitigation stage and then negotiate, argue, cajole and convince opponents to have these mitigation measures implemented.\n> \n> I know how carefully you considered the recruitment of every detective, analyst, prosecutor and judge. And the resulting system has been impressive – a national treasure. You should be proud of it, as should all Ukrainian citizens and leaders alike. We have certainly been privileged to be associated with it.\n> \n> The value of this anti-corruption infrastructure to Ukraine is not (only) sentimental. It is also of crucial importance as a counter-message to those who say – often without any personal experience or understanding of the issue – that any money or resources sent to Ukraine will only fuel corruption. It is also a crucial counter-message to russian propaganda which loves to portray Ukraine as hopelessly corrupt. You, the anti-corruption institutions, helped us build the arguments against these sceptics:\n> \n> *   How can Ukraine be hopeless, we argue, if it has managed to decrease corruption perceptions by 5 points between 2019 and this year, showing one of the best results in the region?\n> *   How can Ukraine be hopeless if it manages to investigate, arrest and convict high-level corrupt officials?\n> *   How can Ukraine be hopeless if the maturity of its anti-corruption institutions, as recently assessed by the OECD, surpasses many of those in OECD member countries?\n> *   How can Ukraine be hopeless if it has one of the most transparent public procurement systems?\n> *   How can it be hopeless if its public service digitalisation has drastically decreased opportunities for rent-seeking by bureaucrats?\n> *   How can Ukraine’s restoration be hopeless if it has as sophisticated a corruption risk analysis as the one we are presenting today?\n> \n> These are real-life arguments that result in real-life financial, political and military support because they confirm your responsible stewardship of the support you receive. They have allowed us to say that Ukraine is not a corrupt country; it is a country that fights corruption.\n> \n> To those of you in the anti-corruption community: thank you for your hard work over the last 12 years to build and sustain this anti-corruption infrastructure against extraordinary odds.\n> \n> We understand that this week’s efforts have changed the landscape drastically, but fighting corruption remains as important as ever.\n> \n> Your work has been inspiring us, and we will continue to support Ukraine’s anti-corruption aspirations to safeguard this essential dimension of your national defence and restoration.","2025-07-24","mitigating-corruption-risks-in-ukraine039s-restoration-new-report-2836","Mitigating corruption risks in Ukraine's restoration: new report","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fd9cd78fe-043c-482d-92c1-5152e324e1c7?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[256],7791,[14],[17,18],[],2836,[262],"Ukraine",[17,18],[265],1349,[],[],"2025-08-21T23:48:00.000Z","2026-05-23T09:18:20.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fmitigating-corruption-risks-in-ukraine039s-restoration-new-report-2836",{"id":273,"body":274,"status":6,"type":10,"date":275,"slug":276,"title":277,"image":278,"countries":279,"topic":280,"activity":281,"tags":282,"nid":283,"topics":284,"activities":285,"authors":286,"images":287,"websites":22,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":195,"translations":288,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":289,"user_updated":89,"date_updated":290,"content":291,"link":292},10583,"Improving the quality of intelligence we can extract from blockchain technologies could vastly increase our capacity to counter financial crimes involving crypto or virtual assets.\n\nThis Q&A builds on a [first article on the concept of blockchain intelligence](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Funlocking-blockchain-intelligence-tackle-illicit-crypto-use) and practical use cases. This one focuses on the quality of current blockchain intelligence and the need for recognised standards and professional training to build capabilities in the public and private sectors.\n\nThanks to Bogdan Vacusta (National Bank of Romania), Nico Di Gabriele (European Central Bank) and Victor Vevera (ICI Bucharest) for the insights. Note that the views expressed are personal and may not be necessarily aligned with those of the institution of affiliation.\n\n### Should we be worried about the quality of blockchain intelligence currently?\n\nYes. Since there are currently no established or empirically tested standards, there is a real risk that inaccurate blockchain “intelligence” is presented as fact.\n\nTo prevent errors and misattribution, we need rigorous standards to test the integrity of blockchain intelligence. Users must also understand its limits and its role in the overall analysis process.\n\n### How do investigators and analysts currently?\n\nMany practitioners in the public and private sectors rely on commercial tools to trace transactions on the blockchain, but may lack understanding of how these operate or their limitations.\n\nThey may also simply rely on information that private blockchain tracing companies provide, with no means to independently verify the results and understand methodologies employed.\n\nThe information may be correct. But it’s a bit of a “black box” and the resulting blockchain intelligence may be of dubious quality – something that would never be accepted in traditional financial investigations.\n\n### Are you calling into question the quality of blockchain evidence used in court?\n\nYes. There are cases in the United States especially where the quality of the blockchain tracing methodologies has been questioned.\n\nFor example, in the case [_United States v. Sterlingov_](https:\u002F\u002Fcaselaw.findlaw.com\u002Fcourt\u002Fus-dis-crt-dis-col\u002F115886148.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com) in 2024, the defendant was charged with operating the crypto mixer the Bitcoin Fog to launder illicit crypto assets and evidence in the form of blockchain analysis was provided by Chainalysis. The defence argued that “the \\[g\\]overnment's ‘blockchain analysis’ is junk science.” “The problem is we have no data set, no scientific data set with which we can measure the reliability and the accuracy of this software”, they said. This has triggered [significant debate](https:\u002F\u002Ffortune.com\u002Fcrypto\u002F2024\u002F03\u002F13\u002Fblockchain-analysis-chainalysis-bitcoin-fog-law-enforcement\u002F).\n\nWhere the quality of evidence from the blockchain is questionable, it may be dismissed – or even worse, result in unjust outcomes and potentially the conviction of innocent defendants.\n\nFortunately, in most cases so far, other evidence existed that enabled the prosecution to secure a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. \n\nThe quality of blockchain intelligence needs to be subjected to rigorous statistical evaluation and analysis. Where there is ambiguity, the burden to prove that adequate standards have been met should be on the party seeking to rely on the evidence.\n\n### How can law enforcement agencies build capabilities in blockchain intelligence?\n\nIt’s difficult!\n\n*   First, there are currently few options outside of commercial solutions. Training tends to focus on the specific solutions developed by the training provider.\n*   Second, when new staff are hired, especially in law enforcement and the public sector, these tend to be blockchain tracing experts who have gained their expertise using commercial tools. Again, this may lead to methodology bias.\n*   Third, the quality of available training varies significantly. Blockchain intelligence requires expertise in law, computer science and finance. Training courses rarely acknowledge the need to have at least a basic understanding of each of these fields.\n\nLast, currently expertise is tied to certifications issued by providers of commercial tools, with no independent means to test the knowledge and skills of existing or new staff.\n\n### What can be done to improve blockchain intelligence tools, training and quality?\n\nFor tools, there is a pressing need for public-private partnerships to develop independently verifiable blockchain intelligence solutions. This would give all users more options. Working with universities, research organisations and other academic institutions is a good starting point to determine the reliability of blockchain intelligence and further research new applications.\n\nFor training, we need non-commercial blockchain intelligence training programmes adhering to the highest standards, with inputs and best practices from both public and private sector stakeholders.\n\nFor qualifications and hiring, we recommend that the role of a blockchain analyst is professionalised and officially recognised in frameworks such as the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO) classification. For that, an independent accreditation process for recognised professionals needs to be established, involving stakeholders from different sectors including independent accreditation bodies.\n\nUnderlying all this is the need to develop global standards based on a deep body of research that acknowledges both the capabilities and the limitations of blockchain intelligence.\n\nA practical first step towards all of these goals is the creation of working groups of experts, academics and relevant organisations focused on the exchange and interoperability of blockchain intelligence, as well as on sharing technology and best practices.\n\n### Do initiatives to this end already exist?\n\nExamples of such initiatives in which we are personally involved include:\n\n*   The [Blockchain Intelligence Academy (BIA)](https:\u002F\u002Fbi.academy\u002F), whose mission is to develop “actionable, independent blockchain intelligence capability, in service of the truth by, placing “the integrity of blockchain intelligence above all else”. It evolved from a public-private partnership between ICI Bucharest and the Singapore-based blockchain intelligence firm ChainArgos. BIA is committed to developing training standards and is openly inviting all blockchain analytics providers to this initiative, as a key objective is to facilitate the use of various tools in training programs conducted by BIA.\n*   The [Blockchain Intelligence Professionals Association (BIPA)](https:\u002F\u002Fblockchaintelligence.com\u002F), which brings together practitioners in the field of blockchain technology. Its objective is to “establish a platform for dialogue, to facilitate training, sharing of expertise, good practice and to encourage new partnerships”. Bogdan Vacusta, the chairman of BIPA, is actively involved in facilitating interactions between blockchain analytics providers, with a key objective to facilitate public-private partnerships focused on standards and interoperability.\n\nBoth organisations are closely involved in the first ever Blockchain Intelligence Forum in Bucharest. Here, a special working group will be launched aimed at introducing a new occupation – Blockchain Analyst – into the Romanian and European classifications of occupations and qualifications.\n\nThe two initiatives are also exploring ways to provide blockchain intelligence accreditation that stakeholders globally respect and rely on.\n\n### Remind us: what is the dream? Our end goal?\n\nThe dream is to develop global standards of excellence for blockchain intelligence capabilities. Training is a top priority, to both strengthen the blockchain intelligence discipline and develop expertise that is less reliant on commercial blockchain tracing tools.\n\nOur end goal is to establish a globally recognised standard for blockchain intelligence skills and develop the capabilities of professionals accordingly to combat the rise in illicit finance and preserve market integrity. A clean market is a precondition for its stability and thus capacity to fulfil people’s needs.\n\nThe rapid growth of crypto-assets and the development of blockchain technology has seen an increase in their use to facilitate financial crime. This is why it’s more important than ever to provide a structured, robust and resilient framework to continually improve and train blockchain intelligence professionals.","2025-03-04","setting-global-standards-on-blockchain-intelligence-from-idea-to-reality-2774","Setting global standards on blockchain intelligence – from idea to reality","\u002Fpics\u002Fimg-placeholder.png",[],[72],[18],[],2774,[81],[18],[],[],[],"2025-11-24T11:01:43.000Z","2026-05-29T22:22:38.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fsetting-global-standards-on-blockchain-intelligence-from-idea-to-reality-2774",{"id":294,"body":295,"status":6,"type":10,"date":296,"slug":297,"title":298,"image":299,"countries":300,"topic":303,"activity":304,"tags":307,"nid":308,"topics":309,"activities":310,"authors":311,"images":312,"websites":313,"area":22,"programme":22,"language":22,"translations":314,"translation_of":22,"user_created":42,"date_created":315,"user_updated":43,"date_updated":316,"content":317,"link":318},10391,"> _“Fighting climate change and the degradation of our planet is hard enough. We cannot allow poor governance and corruption to undermine our hard-fought progress.”_\n> \n> – Ambassador Georg Sparber, Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the United States\n\nSpeakers at a [high-level event](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wilsoncenter.org\u002Fevent\u002Fcombating-green-corruption-fighting-financial-crime-driver-environmental-degradation) at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. noted substantial strides in addressing “green corruption” in recent years. Though awareness, understanding and action on corruption and illicit financial flows linked to environmental degradation are growing, further progress is needed. That will entail the active cooperation of governments, the private sector and civil society across the world.\n\nThat is no small challenge, but the tone of the event on 19 September 2023 was optimistic and forward looking. Organised by the Embassy of Liechtenstein to the U.S., the U.S. Department of State, the Wilson Center and the Basel Institute on Governance, the event featured:\n\n*   Richard Nephew, [Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption, U.S. Department of State](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.state.gov\u002Fbureaus-offices\u002Funder-secretary-for-civilian-security-democracy-and-human-rights\u002Fbureau-of-international-narcotics-and-law-enforcement-affairs\u002Foffice-of-the-coordinator-on-global-anti-corruption\u002F)\n*   Oleksandra Azarkhina, Deputy Minister for [Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine](https:\u002F\u002Fmtu.gov.ua\u002Fen\u002F)\n*   Andrea Gacki, Director of [FinCEN](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fincen.gov\u002F)\n*   Himamauli Das, Former Acting Director of FinCEN\n*   Roberto Troya, Senior Vice President for [WWF](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldwildlife.org\u002F) U.S. country offices and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, WWF\n*   Juhani Grossmann, Team Leader for the [Green Corruption programme](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption), Basel Institute on Governance\n*   Lauren Herzer Risi, Director of the [Environmental Change and Security Program](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wilsoncenter.org\u002Fprogram\u002Fenvironmental-change-and-security-program) at the Wilson Center (moderator)\n\nThe high level of attendance in person and online was a positive sign that stakeholders in all sectors of society are starting to take the issue seriously.\n\n### Growing attention\n\nAs Coordinator Nephew stated in a [keynote speech](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fus-action-against-green-corruption-keynote-speech-richard-nephew), green corruption links three key priorities of the U.S. Government: the green economy, nature crimes and fighting corruption. Addressing it will remain a prime concern across U.S. institutions, he said.\n\nOther countries are also joining the dots between corruption, transparency and environmental sustainability. The Basel Institute’s Green Corruption programme has noted a growing openness among governments and their environmental agencies to address the topic. This is a welcome development, even if getting under-resourced environmental agencies to focus on internal corruption risks remains a challenge.\n\nIn Ukraine recent crimes that could amount to ecocide, such as the blowing up of the Kakhovka Dam, have drawn attention to how kleptocratic regimes can deliberately destroy nature to achieve their military and geopolitical goals. On the other side, as Deputy Minister Azarkhina explained in her [presentation](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2023-09\u002FMinister%20Azarkhina%20speech_Green%20Restoration.pdf), the Ukrainian Government’s restoration plans are based on a powerful recognition that environmental considerations, transparency, accountability and citizen participation are all vital to their success.\n\nEnvironmental crime is also rising up the priority list of financial institutions and government financial intelligence units, such as the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). As [Andrea Gacki pointed out](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fandrea-gacki-how-us-treasury-department-combatting-green-corruption), FinCEN’s [2021 report on illicit finance threats involving wildlife trafficking](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fincen.gov\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2021-12\u002FFinancial_Threat_Analysis_IWT_FINAL%20508_122021.pdf) joins other milestone reports such as those of the [Financial Action Task Force](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fatf-gafi.org\u002Fen\u002Fpublications\u002FEnvironmentalcrime\u002FEnvironmental-crime.html) in drawing attention to the issue of illicit financial flows linked to environmental crimes.\n\nThe increased attention has led to a paradigm shift, as moderator Lauren Herzer Risi said, from focusing on the middlemen to targeting the transnational criminal organisations masterminding nature crimes – and to the public officials that abuse their power to facilitate these crimes for personal gain.\n\n### Leaps in understanding\n\nThe USAID-funded [Targeting Natural Resource Corruption project](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldwildlife.org\u002Fpages\u002Ftnrc-targeting-natural-resource-corruption) has added meat to the concept of green corruption with its deep, detailed and actionable research on the links between corruption and natural resource-related crimes. Favouring ground-level, practical information and aimed at a broad audience of conservation and anti-corruption practitioners, the project has helped to connect individuals and organisations targeting nature crimes from both conservation and anti-corruption angles.\n\nThis shared knowledge will keep growing with the [Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldwildlife.org\u002Fpages\u002Ftnrc-countering-environmental-corruption-practitioners-forum), a joint initiative of WWF, TRAFFIC, Transparency International and the Basel Institute on Governance. With funding support from USAID and Liechtenstein, the Forum is already serving as a powerful platform for practitioners at all levels to share knowledge and experiences on tackling green corruption.\n\nA similar swell of understanding is taking place in the anti-money laundering\u002Fcounter financing of terrorism (AML\u002FCFT) sphere. A 2021 [FinCEN Exchange](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fincen.gov\u002Fnews\u002Fnews-releases\u002Ffincen-holds-fincen-exchange-environmental-crimes-and-related-financial-activity) brought together representatives from U.S. financial institutions, law enforcement and Federal Government agencies to discuss environmental crimes and related financial activity. Other information-sharing initiatives include the new [U.S.–South Africa Task Force to Combat the Financing of Wildlife Trafficking](https:\u002F\u002Fhome.treasury.gov\u002Fnews\u002Fpress-releases\u002Fjy1216) as well as the international [Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units](https:\u002F\u002Fegmontgroup.org\u002F).\n\n### Actions and coalitions\n\nSo, what is being done as a result of this groundswell in attention and understanding?\n\nOn the enforcement side, prosecutions and [sanctions](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.state.gov\u002Fdesignation-of-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-drc-public-officials-for-significant-corruption\u002F) for corrupt officials linked to environmental crimes send a clear message. Both suspicious transaction reports and whistleblowing reports can be useful in triggering law enforcement actions targeting corruption or illicit financial flows linked to nature crimes, while the [dangers for whistleblowers and environmental activists](https:\u002F\u002Fiaccseries.org\u002Fconservationists-and-environmental-activists-are-hampered-by-corruption-but-it-also-puts-them-in-danger\u002F) need to be taken very seriously.\n\nFor prevention, countries should systematically build anti-corruption elements into green economy and climate-related projects, as Coordinator Nephew said the U.S. is doing. In this, countries could take inspiration from Ukraine’s reconstruction planning, which makes the most of digital technologies like [ProZorro](https:\u002F\u002Fprozorro.gov.ua\u002Fen) and the [DREAM](https:\u002F\u002Fdream.gov.ua\u002F) platform to enhance transparency and engage citizens in ensuring accountability. Other promising ideas are set to emerge shortly from the U.S.-led [Powering a Just Energy Transition Green Minerals Challenge](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.usaid.gov\u002Fdocument\u002Fpowering-just-energy-transition-green-minerals-challenge).\n\nUltimately, as Ambassador Sparber said, countering green corruption is a whole-of-society effort. That is why partnerships and coalitions will play a key role in keeping up momentum on awareness, understanding and action. In addition to the Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum, powerful coalitions include the [Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative](https:\u002F\u002Feiti.org\u002F), the [Minerals Security Partnership](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.state.gov\u002Fminerals-security-partnership\u002F) and the [Nature Crime Alliance](https:\u002F\u002Fnaturecrimealliance.org\u002F).\n\nWe welcome these partnerships and the continued support of forward-looking donors and institutions seeking to safeguard our planet’s future from corruption.\n\nTogether, we will continue to keep pushing the issue of Green Corruption to the top of the agenda of global policymakers and practitioners – including at the forthcoming intergovernmental [Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption in December](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unodc.org\u002Funodc\u002Fen\u002Fcorruption\u002FCOSP\u002Fconference-of-the-states-parties.html) in the U.S. city of Atlanta.\n\n### Learn more\n\n*   [Watch the full event recording and see key quotes from speakers](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wilsoncenter.org\u002Fevent\u002Fcombating-green-corruption-fighting-financial-crime-driver-environmental-degradation) or view the [individual speeches and panels](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutube.com\u002Fplaylist?list=PLYRnhpCcnLP98Q7X75sblbQo-gzcka6Gd&si=a5TSeNhPTpDxQGV1)\n*   [Sign up](http:\u002F\u002Feepurl.com\u002FhpgxT9) to be notified of future events and publications on Green Corruption","2023-09-28","progress-in-fighting-green-corruption-and-the-path-ahead-2511","Progress in fighting green corruption – and the path ahead","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F0a7015e6-f6af-407c-973f-4935696efa1a?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[301,302],7166,7167,[106],[305,18,306,110],"Events","Presentations",[],2511,[106],[305,18,306,110],[],[],[24],[],"2023-09-28T10:01:31.000Z","2025-08-31T23:14:40.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fprogress-in-fighting-green-corruption-and-the-path-ahead-2511",{"left":320,"top":320,"width":321,"height":321,"rotate":320,"vFlip":322,"hFlip":322,"body":323},0,20,false,"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M17 10a.75.75 0 0 1-.75.75H5.612l4.158 3.96a.75.75 0 1 1-1.04 1.08l-5.5-5.25a.75.75 0 0 1 0-1.08l5.5-5.25a.75.75 0 1 1 1.04 1.08L5.612 9.25H16.25A.75.75 0 0 1 17 10\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\u002F>",1780676406624]