[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":384},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-new-asset-recovery-protocol":3,"news-new-asset-recovery-protocol-similar":101,"i-heroicons:arrow-left-20-solid":379},[4],{"id":5,"status":6,"date_created":7,"date_updated":8,"title":9,"type":10,"body":11,"date":12,"topic":8,"slug":13,"activity":8,"nid":8,"topics":14,"activities":8,"programme":8,"area":8,"websites":16,"language":18,"image":19,"translation_of":8,"countries":32,"tags":33,"authors":81,"images":97,"translations":98,"content":99,"translations_news":100},10643,"published","2026-07-14T15:13:14.000Z",null,"Is this a turning point for asset recovery success in Europe?","Blog","Those of us dedicated to fighting financial crime were excited to see the Council of Europe’s recent [adoption of an Additional Protocol](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.coe.int\u002Fen\u002Fweb\u002Fportal\u002F-\u002Fnew-council-of-europe-treaty-to-strengthen-criminal-asset-recovery) to the Warsaw Convention, an international treaty on the prevention and control of money laundering and terrorist financing.\n\nThe Protocol, together with the Warsaw Convention, arguably represents one of the most advanced treaty frameworks on asset recovery. It elevates practices developed in more advanced jurisdictions into binding commitments and raises the baseline for all participating states.\n\nIt also requires states to rethink their approach to anti-money laundering and asset recovery in several important respects. Among others, it:\n\n-   places greater emphasis on financial investigations;\n-   strengthens the institutional architecture supporting asset recovery;\n-   obliges states to significantly improve their ability to cooperate in cross-border cases.\n\nTo achieve these objectives, it introduces a range of operational measures designed to facilitate the tracing, freezing, management and recovery of criminal assets. These include dedicated asset recovery bodies, centralised account registries and enhanced mechanisms for information sharing and international cooperation.\n\nThis short explainer highlights some of the points that we, at the Basel Institute, find most important and potentially impactful based on two decades of experience of our International Centre for Asset Recovery supporting jurisdictions around the world on anti-money laundering and asset recovery.\n\n## Why the new Protocol?\n\nThe 2005 Warsaw Convention – formally the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism – establishes a comprehensive framework for anti-money laundering and asset recovery.\n\nIt requires its 39 States Parties to implement anti-money laundering measures, including customer due diligence, suspicious transaction reporting and Financial Intelligence Units. It also requires them to cooperate internationally to identify, trace, freeze, seize, confiscate and return criminal assets.\n\nThe need to modernise the Convention and respond to evolving forms of illicit finance, digital assets and the increasingly rapid movement of assets across borders drove the adoption of the new Protocol.\n\nThe Protocol seeks to ensure consistency with emerging international and regional standards, including the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations. It also seeks to make advanced asset recovery mechanisms developed within the European Union framework available across the wider Council of Europe space, which includes 46 European states.\n\n## Connecting financial intelligence with asset recovery and management\n\nThe Protocol's main innovation lies in the integration of **Financial Intelligence Units, Asset Recovery Offices and Asset Management Offices** into a coherent institutional architecture. The integration is designed to support rapid intervention, effective asset tracing and management, and cross-border cooperation.\n\nBy doing so, it strengthens the role of non-law enforcement actors in tracing, safeguarding and preserving the value of assets.\n\nFirst, under the Protocol, States Parties are required to establish **Asset Recovery Offices** with powers to trace assets, cooperate directly with foreign counterparts and take [immediate action](https:\u002F\u002Flearn.baselgovernance.org\u002Fmod\u002Fpage\u002Fview.php?id=878) to preserve assets, including crypto, in cross-border cases.\n\nSecond, States Parties are also required to establish **Asset Management Offices** responsible for managing frozen and confiscated property and for cooperating with domestic and foreign authorities.\n\nThird, the Protocol also strengthens the [operational role of Financial Intelligence Units](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-12\u002F191023-quickguides_prod-11_g07.pdf) in asset recovery by requiring states to grant them powers to temporarily suspend transactions, accounts and business relationships. Many jurisdictions already permit the temporary suspension of suspicious transactions. However, FATF standards do not require Financial Intelligence Units to have such authority.\n\nIn practice, these reforms recognise that anti-money laundering and asset recovery are closely interconnected. Early intervention significantly increases the chances of successful asset recovery at both domestic and cross-border level.\n\nThey also emphasise that asset value must be preserved from freezing to disposal. Achieving this requires empowering specialised authorities responsible for financial intelligence, asset tracing and asset management.\n\n## Streamlining access to asset and ownership data\n\nThe Protocol requires the establishment of centralised account registries capable of identifying bank accounts, payment accounts, securities accounts, safe deposit boxes and crypto accounts, along with their beneficial owners and any persons authorised to act on behalf of account holders. Financial Intelligence Units, **Asset Recovery Offices** and other competent authorities are explicitly granted access to these mechanisms.\n\nThis creates a dedicated infrastructure for locating assets within a jurisdiction. It also allows the exchange of such information between authorities in cross-border cases.\n\nWhile centralised bank account registries already exist in many jurisdictions, they are far from universal. Moreover, where such systems do exist, they have traditionally focused on bank account information and often do not extend to other forms of financial holdings, such as securities accounts, safe-deposit boxes or crypto accounts.\n\nIn practice, this addresses a major operational bottleneck. Identifying accounts usually requires multiple requests to banks and other institutions, which increases the length of financial investigations. Centralised registries significantly improve operational efficiency by accelerating asset tracing and reducing the risk of asset dissipation before authorities can act – an approach now being extended to volatile asset classes such as cryptocurrencies.\n\n## Maximising the value of financial investigations\n\nThe Protocol establishes a comprehensive framework to prioritise and enhance asset tracing and financial investigations.\n\nThe Protocol requires competent authorities to be able to conduct financial investigations without delay, independently or alongside criminal investigations at all stages of proceedings. This includes after a confiscation order has been issued.\n\nSuch investigations are intended to be flexible in scope and may be used to identify the scale of criminal networks, trace and secure assets subject to confiscation, or gather evidence for criminal or asset recovery proceedings.\n\nThis emphasis on early and adaptable financial investigation underscores the Protocol’s objective of embedding asset tracing and recovery as a routine component of enforcement processes, while preserving discretion for competent authorities in how these tools are applied in practice.\n\n## Asset management gets the attention it deserves\n\nThe Protocol encourage states to shift away from perceptions that asset management is a secondary administrative task and instead view it as a necessary, value-preserving core function of asset recovery systems. It obligates States Parties to establish a detailed [asset management](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fresources\u002Fpublications\u002Fqg41\u002F) framework, that includes:\n\n-   **the possibility of selling seized assets before confiscation** where property is perishable, rapidly depreciating or requires specialised management that is not readily available, thereby preserving value pending the outcome of proceedings; and\n-   **measures facilitating the reuse** of seized and confiscated assets.\n\nExperience shows that preserving the value of seized assets requires more than legal powers. It also depends on having clear procedures, dedicated resources and expertise. This is particularly true for complex or newer forms of assets, such as [cryptocurrencies](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Flearning\u002Fevents\u002Fcryptoasset-management-roundtable-side-event-to-the-10th-global-conference-2956).\n\nThe practical side of asset management is an especially important consideration for many of the Basel Institute’s partner jurisdictions, where asset management has often not been prioritised until now.\n\nLessons from the field show that strong asset management depends on the combination of legal frameworks and the capacity to putting them into practice, including specialized institutions for asset management.\n\n## Practical ways to enhance international cooperation\n\nThe Protocol introduces several measures designed to strengthen international cooperation between **Financial Intelligence Units, Asset Recovery Offices and Asset Management Offices**, as well as judicial authorities. On the latter, key measures we highlight as particularly valuable include:\n\nFirst, **mandatory standard forms** for the transmission and execution of freezing and confiscation requests.\n\nAlthough model templates already exist in a number of international and regional frameworks, their use is often optional. The Protocol seeks to promote greater consistency in requests, reduce delays caused by incomplete information and facilitate more efficient cooperation between authorities.\n\nSecond, **Joint Investigation Teams** established for the purpose of tracing and recovering assets liable to confiscation.\n\nJoint Investigation Teams provide a mechanism for authorities to work together in real time, exchanging intelligence and evidence directly without relying on formal mutual legal assistance. While they are already envisaged under instruments such as United Nations Convention Against Corruption, United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and EU law, these frameworks primarily focus on the investigation of criminal offences. By contrast, the Protocol innovatively provides for Joint Investigation Teams dedicated solely to asset recovery objectives.\n\nJoint Investigation Teams dedicated to financial investigations already operate [in practice](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.eurojust.europa.eu\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002Fassets\u002Feurojust-report-money-laundering-2022.pdf), but the Protocol provides a clear legal basis and encourages more systematic reliance on them. The combination of proactive domestic investigations and cross-border teams can be a powerful tool bolster the identification and ultimate freezing of criminal assets on a broader scale.\n\n## A powerful Protocol that can inspire all States – and is hopefully not a paper tiger\n\nThe Additional Protocol marks a clear shift in asset recovery towards an intelligence-led and institutionally integrated model of enforcement that also seeks to maximise the value of criminal assets that are seized and recovered by the state.\n\nIts practical impact though, will depend less on legislative alignment than on whether states can build the specialised institutions, tools, expertise and cross-border cooperation needed to make early tracing, preservation and recovery operationally effective.\n\nDepending on existing capacity, this may require legal reform, technical assistance and targeted training. Without this, the Protocol’s significance risks remaining largely theoretical.\n\nIn any case, even beyond the Council of Europe space, the Protocol provides a clear blueprint for jurisdictions seeking to strengthen their asset recovery frameworks. Its approach is closely aligned with the principles that guide our work with partner jurisdictions outside Europe. The Protocol will provide an additional tool to support countries in designing reforms that are both ambitious and grounded in their specific legal, institutional and operational realities.","2026-07-14","new-asset-recovery-protocol",[15],"Asset Recovery and Enforcement",[17],"Main page","English",{"id":20,"storage":21,"filename_disk":22,"filename_download":23,"title":24,"type":25,"created_on":26,"modified_on":7,"charset":8,"filesize":27,"width":28,"height":29,"duration":8,"embed":8,"description":24,"location":8,"tags":8,"metadata":30,"focal_point_x":8,"focal_point_y":8,"tus_id":8,"tus_data":8,"uploaded_on":31},"c7ee2bf1-f085-496b-8088-3f14b58ce4e3","local","c7ee2bf1-f085-496b-8088-3f14b58ce4e3.jpg","Image_COE blog-web.jpg","The Council of Europe is putting the spotlight on investigating, managing and recovering criminal assets. Photo generated by AI.","image\u002Fjpeg","2026-07-14T15:09:44.000Z",761686,2000,1333,{},"2026-07-14T15:09:45.000Z",[],[34,53,67],{"id":35,"news_id":36,"tags_id":50},6065,{"id":5,"status":6,"user_created":37,"date_created":7,"user_updated":8,"date_updated":8,"title":9,"type":10,"body":11,"image":20,"date":12,"topic":8,"slug":13,"activity":8,"nid":8,"topics":38,"activities":8,"programme":8,"area":8,"websites":39,"translation_of":8,"language":18,"countries":40,"tags":41,"authors":44,"images":46,"translations":47,"content":48,"translations_news":49},"545a204d-e41b-4882-afda-481ecf3fd971",[15],[17],[],[35,42,43],6066,6067,[45],1387,[],[],[],[],{"id":51,"name":52},818,"Anti-money laundering",{"id":42,"news_id":54,"tags_id":64},{"id":5,"status":6,"user_created":37,"date_created":7,"user_updated":8,"date_updated":8,"title":9,"type":10,"body":11,"image":20,"date":12,"topic":8,"slug":13,"activity":8,"nid":8,"topics":55,"activities":8,"programme":8,"area":8,"websites":56,"translation_of":8,"language":18,"countries":57,"tags":58,"authors":59,"images":60,"translations":61,"content":62,"translations_news":63},[15],[17],[],[35,42,43],[45],[],[],[],[],{"id":65,"name":66},858,"Asset management",{"id":43,"news_id":68,"tags_id":78},{"id":5,"status":6,"user_created":37,"date_created":7,"user_updated":8,"date_updated":8,"title":9,"type":10,"body":11,"image":20,"date":12,"topic":8,"slug":13,"activity":8,"nid":8,"topics":69,"activities":8,"programme":8,"area":8,"websites":70,"translation_of":8,"language":18,"countries":71,"tags":72,"authors":73,"images":74,"translations":75,"content":76,"translations_news":77},[15],[17],[],[35,42,43],[45],[],[],[],[],{"id":79,"name":80},1193,"Financial investigations",[82],{"id":45,"news_id":83,"authors_id":93},{"id":5,"status":6,"user_created":37,"date_created":7,"user_updated":8,"date_updated":8,"title":9,"type":10,"body":11,"image":20,"date":12,"topic":8,"slug":13,"activity":8,"nid":8,"topics":84,"activities":8,"programme":8,"area":8,"websites":85,"translation_of":8,"language":18,"countries":86,"tags":87,"authors":88,"images":89,"translations":90,"content":91,"translations_news":92},[15],[17],[],[35,42,43],[45],[],[],[],[],{"id":94,"name":95,"position":8,"image":96},553,"Rita Simões","bd333e72-3950-4c12-b55b-b6bc5cd448c7",[],[],[],[],[102,138,169,198,225,249,287,320,349],{"id":103,"body":104,"status":6,"type":105,"date":106,"slug":107,"title":108,"image":109,"countries":110,"topic":8,"activity":8,"tags":111,"nid":8,"topics":126,"activities":8,"authors":128,"images":129,"websites":130,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":131,"translation_of":8,"user_created":132,"date_created":133,"user_updated":132,"date_updated":134,"content":135,"translations_news":136,"link":137},10642,"As part of a wider Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme, our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) has concluded a successful nine-month [train-the-trainer (TTT) programme](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Flearning\u002Ftraining\u002Ftrain-the-trainer) in Bucharest.\n\nAlongside delivering foundational money laundering and asset recovery training to 125 practitioners in total, the programme has certified six new local trainers. Equipped with ICAR’s unique training methodology, they are now ready to independently train their peers and help strengthen financial investigation and asset recovery capacity across Romania.\n\n## Building sustainable national capacity\n\nThe six trainers certified through the programme include one judge, four prosecutors and one representative of the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (ANABI). Fully independently, they will now deliver a further 15 workshops across the country. \n\nThis effort will effectively bring the total number of practitioners trained to around 500, including judges, prosecutors, specialists, ANABI inspectors and other relevant practitioners.\n\nThis is a clear example of how train-the-trainer programmes are a proven approach to building sustainable national capacity. On one side, certified local trainers help ensure that knowledge and skills continue to be transferred even after a programme concludes. On the other side, participants benefit far more from learning from peers who understand their specific challenges and possibilities. \n\n![](https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F6e8e2abf-4837-4223-ac15-104e535cf8ff)\n\n## Two critical legal tools in focus\n\nThis time, the programme placed particular emphasis on two areas where practitioners can strengthen their response to financial crime: treating money laundering as a standalone offence and launching financial investigations from the earliest stages of a case.\n\n### 1. The standalone money laundering offence\n\nA persistent challenge in money laundering investigations is the assumption that prosecutors must first prove or secure a conviction before pursuing money laundering charges.\n\nUnder the Council of Europe's Warsaw Convention (CETS No. 198, Art. 9) and EU Directive (EU) 2018\u002F1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law, a conviction for money laundering actually requires neither a prior nor a simultaneous conviction for the predicate offence, nor that the predicate offence be established or identified with precision: prosecutors need only show that the property derives from criminal activity, not which specific crime generated it.\n\nAs one of the newly certified trainers reflected:\n\n> I highly valued the new perspective of setting aside the old view of placement, layering and integrating the proceeds of a crime in order to prove money laundering. […] It was very useful the approach of covering as many areas as possible impacted by money laundering, like crypto assets, which I did not know almost anything about before, and asset recovery, which is not a topic very much considered in our practice. I was also very impressed how the concept of multi-stakeholder approach in fighting ML was reflected in setting up the groups for the practical exercise.\n\n### 2. Systematic use of parallel financial investigations\n\nAnother important approach is the systematic use of parallel financial investigations to identify and trace criminal assets from the outset of a case.\n\nThis approach is now required under Directive (EU) 2024\u002F1260 on asset recovery and confiscation, which obliges Member States to launch asset-tracing investigations alongside criminal investigations into high-revenue-generating crime, rather than waiting for a conviction before tracing assets. \n\nThis shift is already visible in practice. One trainer wrote:\n\n> I started talking to my colleagues about financial investigations and money laundering. I managed to send to court my first money laundering case, though not standalone, and I also started asking the police to start financial investigations from the beginning of the file.\n\n## From training to real cases\n\nThe effect of our training has also reached institutional level. One trainer reported:\n\n> The management has started disseminating theoretical and practical materials on these topics, organising meetings and training sessions with practitioners and academics, and actively encouraging prosecutors to consider money laundering and asset recovery aspects in their cases. These initiatives have facilitated increased awareness and engagement within the institution.\n\nThis is exactly the dual impact we seek through the Train-the-Trainer model: a sustainable, independently delivered training capacity, paired with a genuine shift in how practitioners approach financial investigations in their daily work and how their institutions prioritise it. \n\nWith the first independently delivered workshops planned for September 2026, our ICAR training team looks forward to following the six newly certified trainers and seeing their work generate further impact across Romania.\n\n## About the programme\n\nThis TTT was part of the Component 3 of a larger Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme *Strengthening the institutional capacity in the area of financial investigations and asset recovery* (FIARS). \n\nThis component is implemented by the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (PICCJ) as component operator, in partnership with the National Institute of Magistracy (INM) and the Basel Institute on Governance as the Swiss partner. \n","News","2026-06-30","six-new-certified-trainers-in-romania","Six new certified trainers will scale financial investigation and asset recovery capacity in Romania","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F01933814-65b1-456f-b042-211e39e191ab?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[],[112,116,120,122],{"tags_id":113},{"id":114,"name":115},843,"Asset recovery",{"tags_id":117},{"id":118,"name":119},854,"Virtual assets",{"tags_id":121},{"id":79,"name":80},{"tags_id":123},{"id":124,"name":125},1372,"Training",[15,127],"Learning and training",[],[],[17],[],"115250da-6c1d-42e7-888a-fbbe909fc524","2026-06-29T15:17:08.000Z","2026-07-01T12:29:22.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fsix-new-certified-trainers-in-romania",{"id":139,"body":140,"status":6,"type":10,"date":141,"slug":142,"title":143,"image":144,"countries":145,"topic":8,"activity":8,"tags":146,"nid":8,"topics":159,"activities":8,"authors":160,"images":161,"websites":162,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":163,"translation_of":8,"user_created":132,"date_created":164,"user_updated":132,"date_updated":165,"content":166,"translations_news":167,"link":168},10641,"For victims of corruption and related human rights abuses, justice is often out of reach. Courts may be compromised, prosecutors unwilling to act and political leaders implicated in the wrongdoing. In such cases, corruption sanctions cannot deliver justice on their own. They may, however, provide something else: accountability, recognition and consequences.\n\nThese questions were at the heart of a Basel Institute on Governance webinar marking the launch of the working paper [Corruption sanctions: What governments need to know](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fresources\u002Fpublications\u002Fwp-62). \n\nCommissioned by the Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) and written by Dr Anton Moiseienko, the paper examines how governments can use corruption sanctions more strategically as part of wider anti-corruption efforts.\n\nAndrew Dornbierer, Head of Policy and Research at ICAR moderated the online launch event bringing together experts with experience across sanctions policy, litigation, advocacy and victims' rights. Dr Anton Moiseienko was joined by **Sir William Browder** KCMG, CEO of Hermitage Capital and Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, **Michael O'Kane**, Senior Partner at Peters & Peters, and **Lyra Nightingale**, Senior Legal Advisor at REDRESS.\n\n## Recognition matters\n\nSanctions are often judged by whether they change behaviour, recover assets or deter future wrongdoing. Lyra Nightingale argued that this overlooks another form of impact.\n\n> If a targeted sanction, such as a corruption sanction, can convey recognition, acknowledgement and some sense of justice for victims, it has already had an impact.\n\nDrawing on [REDRESS](https:\u002F\u002Fredress.org\u002F)'s work with survivors of torture and other serious abuses linked to corruption, Nightingale described how sanctions can validate victims' experiences and demonstrate international solidarity when other routes to justice have failed.\n\nExamples from Iran and Angola illustrated the point. Victims and civil society groups viewed sanctions not simply as restrictions imposed on perpetrators, but as public acknowledgement that wrongdoing had occurred and that it mattered.\n\nSanctions cannot provide a complete remedy, but they help signal that impunity is not absolute.\n\n## Success means different things\n\nA recurring theme throughout the webinar was that sanctions are expected to achieve many things at once.\n\nMoiseienko argued that governments use corruption sanctions for a range of purposes: disrupting access to international financial systems, deterring future misconduct, condemning wrongdoing and supporting accountability efforts. Given this broad scope:\n\n> It would be perverse to conclude that if corruption does not stop, sanctions have failed.\n\nThat observation goes to the heart of the debate. Corruption sanctions are often directed at the most powerful and entrenched offenders. Eliminating corruption entirely is rarely a realistic objective. The more relevant question is whether sanctions increase pressure, restrict opportunities and support broader accountability efforts.\n\nThe answer depends on what governments are trying to achieve.\n\n## Do sanctions work?\n\nHere the panellists diverged. Drawing on years of experience representing sanctioned individuals, Michael O'Kane cautioned against assuming that sanctions automatically produce meaningful results.\n\n> For some people, sanctions are profoundly impactful. For others, they are not particularly impactful at all.\n\nHe argued that sanctions are most effective when they form part of a broader strategy that includes enforcement, asset recovery and clear incentives for behavioural change.\n\nSir William Browder took a more forceful view. Reflecting on Russia's response to Magnitsky sanctions, he pointed to the extraordinary lengths taken to challenge and discredit the measures.\n\n> So we know that we hit the Achilles' heel.\n\nFor Browder, the reaction itself is evidence of effectiveness. Sanctions restrict access to assets, travel and international financial networks. They also create uncertainty among others who may fear becoming targets themselves.\n\nThe disagreement was less about whether sanctions matter than about how much they can achieve on their own.\n\n## Legitimacy is part of effectiveness\n\nThe discussion repeatedly returned to legitimacy. Several speakers warned that sanctions derive much of their power from public confidence in their fairness and credibility. If they are perceived as arbitrary or politically motivated, their effectiveness may weaken over time.\n\nMoiseienko argued that governments should resist the temptation to use sanctions indiscriminately.\n\n> The moment governments begin to look trigger-happy, indiscriminate or undisciplined in their use of sanctions, confidence in the entire system risks collapsing.\n\nQuestions of transparency, evidence and due process therefore matter not only for legal reasons but also for practical ones. The legitimacy of sanctions is one of their greatest strengths. It can also be one of their greatest vulnerabilities.\n\n## An evolving tool\n\nCorruption sanctions are now firmly established in the international anti-corruption landscape. Yet many of the questions surrounding them remain unresolved.\n\n- How should success be measured? \n- What role should sanctions play alongside criminal investigations and asset recovery efforts? \n- How can governments maintain public confidence while responding to evolving geopolitical pressures?\n\nAs Andrew Dornbierer noted:\n\n> Corruption sanctions are still a relatively new area of law and policy, and there will undoubtedly be significant developments in the years ahead.\n\nThe webinar offered no single answer to these questions, but gave a sense of both the promise and the limitations of corruption sanctions. They are neither a cure-all nor a symbolic gesture. Used strategically, they can support accountability, recognise victims and increase pressure on those who have long operated with impunity.\n\n## Learn more\n\n::: links\n- [Working Paper \"Corruption sanctions: What governments need to know\"](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fresources\u002Fpublications\u002Fwp-62\u002F) -> For policymakers grappling with these challenges, this Basel Institute’s Working Paper provides a valuable starting point.\n- [Quick Guide to corruption sanctions](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fresources\u002Fpublications\u002Fquick-guide-43-corruption-sanctions\u002F) -> For an easy introduction to the concept.\n- [Webinar recording](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=_f0QsTApi-Q) -> Watch the full webinar on YouTube.\n\n:::\n","2026-06-29","what-can-corruption-sanctions-really-achieve","What can corruption sanctions really achieve?","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fc90f580e-cc4c-447f-bc5f-75d98c3eebd4?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[],[147,151,155],{"tags_id":148},{"id":149,"name":150},1227,"Sanctions",{"tags_id":152},{"id":153,"name":154},1374,"Law enforcement",{"tags_id":156},{"id":157,"name":158},982,"Anti-corruption",[15],[],[],[17],[],"2026-06-29T08:18:19.000Z","2026-06-29T09:25:35.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-can-corruption-sanctions-really-achieve",{"id":170,"body":171,"status":6,"type":10,"date":172,"slug":173,"title":174,"image":175,"countries":176,"topic":8,"activity":8,"tags":177,"nid":8,"topics":186,"activities":8,"authors":187,"images":190,"websites":191,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":192,"translation_of":8,"user_created":132,"date_created":193,"user_updated":132,"date_updated":194,"content":195,"translations_news":196,"link":197},10637,"_Investigative journalists and civil society organisations are often the first to uncover corruption, suspicious financial flows and hidden assets. But turning those discoveries into successful financial investigations and recovered assets requires specialised knowledge that many practitioners have never had the opportunity to acquire._\n\n_To help bridge this gap, the Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) has developed a new training course on [Asset Recovery for Civil Society and Journalists](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Flearning\u002Fcourses\u002Fasset-recovery)._ \n\n_Combining practical exercises, open-source intelligence techniques and a realistic corruption case simulation, the course equips participants with a deeper understanding of how assets are traced, investigated and ultimately recovered._\n\n_In this Q&A, ICAR trainers Tom Walugembe and Emmanuel Mringo explain why the training was developed, what makes its approach distinctive, who it is designed for and the impact they hope participants will have after completing it._\n\n## What specific gap or need led to the development of this course for civil society and investigative journalists?\n\nIn the past two decades we have seen major financial crime scandals, such as the Panama and Pandora Papers leaks, in which efforts by organisations like the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have led to financial crime investigations and prosecutions. \n\nYet in many parts of the world, journalists and other non-state actors like civil society organisations (CSOs) are under-equipped with the knowledge of asset recovery processes needed to carry out their core work effectively. \n\nFor CSOs, that often includes advocacy for policy reform. For journalists, it means evidence-based investigative reporting, as well as the skills to trace illicit financial flows, understand money laundering typologies and gather actionable information whose exposure can trigger financial investigations and lead to the recovery of stolen assets.\n\nThere is international recognition of their importance in the fight against corruption – e.g., [Article 13 of the UN Convention Against Corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unodc.org\u002Fdocuments\u002Fbrussels\u002FUN_Convention_Against_Corruption.pdf), which requires state parties to take measures to promote the participation of CSOs and individuals in the fight against corruption. \n\nBut when it comes to investigating and recovering proceeds of corruption, there is little or no targeted training to enable CSOs and journalists to play this role effectively. We developed the course to address these capacity gaps.\n\n## How does this course fit within and complement ICAR’s wider training and learning offer?\n\nThis course complements [ICAR’s broader training portfolio](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Flearning\u002Ftraining) by broadening its traditional audience. \n\nICAR training programmes focus heavily on law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, financial intelligence units and judicial authorities.\n\nThis new module extends ICAR’s reach to non-state actors while aligning with ICAR’s uniquely effective methodology and offerings. It also integrates with [Basel LEARN](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Flearning\u002Fbasel-learn), the Basel Institute’s online learning platform, which enables blended learning and pre-course preparation. \n\nThe course emphasises core ICAR themes, including parallel financial investigations, international cooperation, and asset tracing, freezing and confiscation.\n\n## And ICAR’s postgraduate programmes on asset recovery?\n\nUnlike the ICAR-led Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) programme on [Combating Financial Crime Through Asset Recovery](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Flearning\u002Fbasel-study\u002Fcas-asset-recovery\u002F), this is a short professional training course rather than a university-accredited academic programme.\n\nThe CAS programmes, delivered in partnership with the University of Basel, run over six months and require around 300 hours of study. By contrast, this course provides a focused, accessible introduction to asset recovery concepts and practical skills. \n\nThe aim is to enable individuals to strengthen their contribution to transparency, accountability and anti-corruption efforts without the substantial time commitment of a postgraduate programme.\n\n## What makes the course’s approach – especially the use of a simulated case and OSINT –distinctive for this audience?\n\nLike other ICAR training modules, the course focuses on developing practical skills through the “learn by doing” methodology. Participants do not simply learn theoretical concepts in a classroom setting. Working in teams, they conduct a simulated corruption and money laundering investigation. They learn to follow financial trails wherever they lead, through layers of international banking transactions and the misuse of offshore shell companies.\n\nAs this audience of CSOs and investigative journalists lacks investigative powers (such as accessing bank accounts or searching premises), the course emphasises alternative methods for securing information that could trigger or support financial investigations. These include using access to public information laws and open-source intelligence (OSINT).\n\n## What kind of real-world impact do you realistically hope participants will have after completing the training?\n\n### First, better investigations. \n\nIndividuals who complete the course will gain stronger OSINT skills to effectively gather information on financial crime and illicit assets. They will have broader knowledge to detect modern bribery and money laundering schemes. They will understand anti-money laundering frameworks and the meticulous process of conducting financial investigations. They will have  greater capacity to analyse financial records, such as bank statements, company documents and procurement records.\n\n### Second, more objective reporting.\n\nThe course will expose participants to the practical challenges of financial investigations and asset recovery, including capacity gaps, asset management and slow international cooperation. This will lead to, among other things, more objective press reporting on financial crimes and asset recovery cases. \n\n### Third, a stronger accountability role. \n\nUpon completing the course, participants will also have the broader knowledge needed to report on and follow up on the reuse of recovered assets, ensuring they are used effectively. \n\n### Fourth, a stronger network.\n\nThe course will provide a platform to foster better cooperation among CSOs, investigative journalists and law enforcement agencies. It will also foster regional and international cooperation among CSOs and Investigative Journalists. \n\nOur dream? That CSOs and journalists go from being external observers and reporters to complementary actors who ensure that financial investigations are effective and transparent, and that stolen assets are quickly detected, traced, seized, well-managed, confiscated, repatriated and deployed to achieve sustainable development. \n\nAmbitious, but essential to making a dent in the corruption and financial crime that hinder development and prosperity worldwide.\n\n## Interested in bringing this training to your organisation or network?\n\nThe [Asset Recovery for Civil Society and Journalists course](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Flearning\u002Fcourses\u002Fasset-recovery) can be delivered either onsite or online for booked groups of approximately 25–30 participants. It is suitable for national, regional or international audiences and can be tailored to specific contexts and learning needs.\n\nFor individuals, the course is also offered online as an open enrolment programme, allowing participants from anywhere in the world to join. To learn more or discuss delivery options, contact training@baselgovernance.org.\n","2026-06-12","interview-why-journalists-need-asset-recovery-skills","Q&A: Why civil society and journalists need asset recovery skills – and how they can gain them","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fb659354b-528b-418e-b5ee-d94e2496efaa?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[],[178,180,182],{"tags_id":179},{"id":114,"name":115},{"tags_id":181},{"id":124,"name":125},{"tags_id":183},{"id":184,"name":185},1300,"Education",[15,127],[188,189],1383,1384,[],[17],[],"2026-06-12T13:19:29.000Z","2026-06-29T09:42:22.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Finterview-why-journalists-need-asset-recovery-skills",{"id":199,"body":200,"status":6,"type":10,"date":201,"slug":202,"title":203,"image":204,"countries":205,"topic":8,"activity":8,"tags":206,"nid":8,"topics":215,"activities":8,"authors":216,"images":217,"websites":8,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":218,"translation_of":8,"user_created":37,"date_created":219,"user_updated":220,"date_updated":221,"content":222,"translations_news":223,"link":224},10636,"How can investigative journalists help expose crypto-related crime – and educate both the public and policymakers in an increasingly complex financial landscape?\n\nThat was the knot unravelled in a recent [webinar](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fjournalism_virtualassets) jointly organised by the Basel Institute on Governance and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and moderated by **Dr Jolly Mtaba** of Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences.\n\nSpeakers spanning investigative journalism, law enforcement and public-private cooperation discussed the opportunities and challenges of investigating illicit activity involving virtual assets. They also probed the skills and collaborations needed to turn media investigations into on-the-ground impact on public awareness, policy advancement and law enforcement action.\n\nBelow are some of the key takeaways from the discussion.\n\n## Why does investigative journalism matter in the fight against crypto-related crime?\n\nAccording to investigative journalist **Geoff White**, journalists play two critical roles.\n\nOne is investigative: uncovering wrongdoing, exposing weaknesses in systems and shining a light on fraud, corruption and money laundering.\n\nThe other is educational.\n\nMany people have heard of cryptocurrency, but far fewer understand how it works, how it can be misused or why it can create opportunities for criminals. Journalists therefore have an important role in helping the public, policymakers and law enforcement agencies understand increasingly complex financial crime risks.\n\nAs White noted, and has sought to do in his latest book [_Rinsed_](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.penguin.co.uk\u002Fbooks\u002F455031\u002Frinsed-by-white-geoff\u002F9780241624869) and podcast series [_The Lazarus Heist_](https:\u002F\u002Fgeoffwhite.tech\u002Fpodcasts\u002F),\n\n> there's the explanation piece, and then there's also the investigation and the forcing daylight into this industry.\n\n## What makes crypto investigations different?\n\nThe panellists agreed that crypto-related investigative reporting presents unique challenges.\n\n**Spencer Woodman** of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ([ICIJ](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.icij.org\u002F)) gave an example from the ICIJ’s [Coin Laundry investigation](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.icij.org\u002Finvestigations\u002Fcoin-laundry\u002F). He explained that while many aspects of crypto investigations resemble traditional money laundering investigations, aspects such as self-custody wallets and crypto-to-cash services introduce a new level of complexity.\n\nUnlike traditional financial accounts, self-custody wallets can be created quickly, anonymously and without the involvement of a financial institution, he explained:\n\n> One thing that amazed me in this investigation was figuring out how easy it is to make my own self-custody wallet. You can generate these things at the click of a button, and that’s one reason scammers have such an easy time laundering money in crypto.\n\nThis makes tracing funds significantly more difficult, particularly when cryptocurrency is converted into cash through informal crypto-to-cash desks or courier services operating outside traditional regulatory frameworks.\n\nBuilding on White’s comments about the explanatory function of journalism, an additional challenge is explaining complex blockchain technology to the audience, said Woodman:\n\n> These scoops and new pieces of information are often about complex financial dealings, and that's already difficult to explain to readers in a succinct way. And then you have this additional challenge of having to explain what cryptocurrency is at a more basic level to a general readership. So the stories are serving a dual purpose – explaining the complex ins and outs of crypto, and then trying to explain the often complicated findings of our investigation.\n\n## Can investigative journalism lead to real-world action?\n\nThe answer is a clear yes.\n\n**Alexandra Gillies** of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project ([OCCRP](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.occrp.org\u002Fen)) highlighted several investigations that led to concrete outcomes.\n\nAfter one investigation into the Lithuanian crypto company [Bankera](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.occrp.org\u002Fen\u002Fnews\u002Fbankera-revelations-lead-to-raids-court-fight), the Lithuanian authorities launched a criminal investigation and conducted more than 30 raids of companies connected to the case. Two banks in Lithuania and Vanuatu faced consequences too.\n\nAnother OCCRP investigation uncovered links between two UK-registered crypto exchanges and suspected Iranian money laundering networks. Following publication, the companies were [removed](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.occrp.org\u002Fen\u002Fnews\u002Fuk-to-dissolve-crypto-exchange-accused-of-funding-irans-revolutionary-guard) from the UK corporate register. She explained:\n\n> At OCCRP we take a proactive approach. First, through outreach to people who can use the information, such as the briefings we gave to law enforcement agencies and policymakers about the findings of our big [Scam Empire](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.occrp.org\u002Fen\u002Fproject\u002Fscam-empire) project. \n\n> Second by collaborating with civil society organisations such as Transparency International – where the journalists do their reporting, and then the civil society groups push for policy change, or for accountability and legal consequences for those involved in the wrongdoing. This has worked really well on a number of corruption issues.\n\nModerator Dr Jolly Ntaba added an example from Malawi, where a collaborative corruption investigation by journalists sparked a national debate and led to a presidential directive aimed at addressing some of the issues uncovered.\n\n## How can journalists and law enforcement work together without compromising independence?\n\nThis was one of the webinar's central themes.\n\n**Eric van der Schild**, Head of Europol's Financial Intelligence Public Private Partnership ([EFIPPP](https:\u002F\u002Fefippp.eu\u002F)), emphasised that trust is essential.\n\nJournalists and law enforcement agencies have different mandates and operate under different constraints, but both share an interest in exposing criminal activity and improving public safety.\n\nHe and other panellists stressed that cooperation does not mean sharing unpublished information or compromising journalistic independence.\n\nGillies clarified that OCCRP's engagement with law enforcement takes place after publication and is based on publicly available reporting:\n\n> The way we share information is by publishing stories.\n\nInstead, panellists highlighted the value of dialogue, mutual learning and ensuring that investigative findings reach the institutions best placed to act on them. The old adage remains true, said van der Schild:\n\n> Trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback.\n\n## What skills do journalists need to investigate crypto-related crime?\n\nSeveral panellists highlighted the growing need for specialist expertise.\n\n**Tom Walugembe** of the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery pointed to a range of skills that can strengthen investigative reporting, including financial analysis, open source intelligence techniques and a better understanding of asset recovery mechanisms.\n\nHe also emphasised the importance of understanding how law enforcement agencies conduct investigations and cooperate across borders.\n\nThe need for such skills beyond law enforcement is the main driver of the Basel Institute’s development of a new [course on financial investigations and asset recovery](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Ffiar_csos) directed specifically at civil society organisations and investigative journalists.\n\nWoodman argued that journalists do not need to become blockchain specialists overnight. However, they do need a solid understanding of the basics:\n\n> The best way to operate, in my opinion, as a reporter focusing on crypto, is to build some capacity and understanding of how to use public blockchain explorers.\n\nThat foundation allows journalists to engage more effectively with technical experts and critically assess the information they receive:\n\n> There are things in the metadata of those transactions that can really trip you up… relationships with experts are crucial, but it’s never very helpful to go to an expert and say: tell me everything about what I’m looking at here. You need to look at the thing yourself and then say: am I looking at this correctly?\n\n## Are there enough resources and expertise available?\n\nNot yet.\n\nBoth OCCRP and ICIJ described ongoing efforts to build internal expertise on cryptocurrency and blockchain analysis.\n\nOne challenge is that many media organisations rely on commercial blockchain analytics providers, which can be expensive and may have potential conflicts of interest due to their relationships with industry clients.\n\nAs a result, several speakers stressed the importance of building in-house expertise.\n\nGillies noted that investigative journalism increasingly requires multidisciplinary teams capable of combining traditional reporting skills with technical and financial expertise. At the OCCRP, they are keen to strengthen collaboration with academic researchers and data scientists, she said.\n\n## What challenges do journalists face?\n\nApart from the omnipresent challenges of resources and expertise, the risks associated with investigating crypto-related crime are often the same risks faced by journalists investigating corruption, organised crime and money laundering more broadly.\n\nThese include legal threats, cyberattacks, political pressure and, in some countries, threats to personal safety.\n\nIn response to a question from the audience, panellists emphasised the impact of declining press freedom.\n\nRestrictions on independent journalism can lead to self-censorship, force journalists into exile and reduce the amount of actionable information that reaches the public domain. Gillies said:\n> \n> There’s a lot of stress and distraction that comes from managing repression.\n\nThe panellists agreed that protecting press freedom is essential if investigative journalism is to continue playing an effective accountability role. It’s in governments’ interests to “take that issue seriously and put it at the top of the agenda”, including both legal protections and adequate resourcing.\n\n## What was the overall message?\n\nThe webinar highlighted that cracking down on crypto-related crime is a complex challenge that is evolving at a dizzying rate and that requires all hands on deck.\n\nInvestigative journalists, law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations, researchers and policymakers each bring different strengths to that effort.\n\nAnd though the technology may be evolving rapidly, the aim remains the same: follow the money, expose wrongdoing, ensure that those responsible are held accountable and strengthen policies to protect people, businesses and states.\n\nAs the discussion demonstrated, investigative journalism continues to be one of the most powerful tools available for achieving that goal.\n\n## Learn more\n\n::: links\n- [View the webinar recording on YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002F6sDullt2gWM)\n-  [Read about the role of international and non-profit organisations in tackling crypto-related crime, drawing on another Basel Institute–OSCE webinar and insights from UNODC, the FIU]((https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fvirtual-assets-real-world-crime-and-search-effective-responses))\n:::","2026-06-10","virtualassets-journalism","The powerful role of investigative journalists in tackling crypto-related crime (and what would boost it)","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fe6fa4394-8830-4c8d-a5d8-28aac4d49d06?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[],[207,209,213],{"tags_id":208},{"id":118,"name":119},{"tags_id":210},{"id":211,"name":212},867,"Financial crime",{"tags_id":214},{"id":79,"name":80},[15],[],[],[],"2026-06-10T13:48:40.000Z","b0662e2a-864d-4888-a1b7-4342b7570b30","2026-06-24T13:27:03.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fvirtualassets-journalism",{"id":226,"body":227,"status":6,"type":10,"date":228,"slug":229,"title":230,"image":231,"countries":232,"topic":8,"activity":8,"tags":233,"nid":8,"topics":238,"activities":8,"authors":239,"images":241,"websites":242,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":243,"translation_of":8,"user_created":37,"date_created":244,"user_updated":220,"date_updated":245,"content":246,"translations_news":247,"link":248},10635,"_What does the EU's new Anti-Corruption Directive actually change, and where does it fall short? This article by Rita Simões of the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery takes a closer look at the final text. She looks at what was adopted, what was left out during negotiations, and what the final text is likely to mean for enforcement across the EU._\n\n_For a broader reflection on what the directive reveals about changing corruption risks and the future direction of EU anti-corruption policy, see a [companion analysis by Dr Jacopo Costa](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Feu-directive-political-lens)._\n\nThe European Union (EU) has adopted and published its [Anti-Corruption Directive](https:\u002F\u002Feur-lex.europa.eu\u002Feli\u002Fdir\u002F2026\u002F1021\u002Foj\u002Feng), concluding a process that began with the Commission’s proposal in [May 2023](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.europarl.europa.eu\u002Flegislative-train\u002Ftheme-a-new-era-for-european-defence-and-security\u002Ffile-directive-on-combating-corruption).\n\nIts adoption comes amid a broader recalibration of global anti-corruption enforcement, marked by decreased U.S. leadership through the scaling back of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement and increased expectations for the EU to assume a more central role in global anti-corruption efforts.\n\nFollowing a lengthy negotiation period, the final directive is a compromise between the widely differing levels of ambition reflected in the proposals put forth by the [European Parliament](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.europarl.europa.eu\u002Fdoceo\u002Fdocument\u002FA-9-2024-0048_EN.html) and [European Commission](https:\u002F\u002Feur-lex.europa.eu\u002Flegal-content\u002FEN\u002FTXT\u002F?uri=COM:2023:234:FIN). It establishes a common baseline of corruption offences, corporate liability rules and jurisdiction, but leaves member states significant discretion to limit the scope of new measures.\n\nThe final version also omits key provisions relating to political financing, non-trial resolutions and victims’ rights.\n\nTherefore, the directive's central achievement is the harmonisation of anti-corruption offences and sanctions. Its central limitation is that it leaves key aspects of enforcement practice largely in the hands of member states.\n\n## Important changes in criminal law, liability and jurisdiction\n\nThe directive establishes a detailed enforcement and prevention framework. It requires member states to, among others:\n\n-   create independent anti-corruption bodies;\n-   adopt national strategies;\n-   conduct sector-specific risk assessments;\n-   provide training for officials; and\n-   use Europol’s SIENA system for information exchange.\n\nThese measures are complemented by harmonised statistical reporting obligations on investigations, prosecutions and sanctions.\n\nOn **substantive criminal law,** the directive introduces a harmonised baseline of corruption offences across member states including domestic and foreign bribery, trading in influence, misappropriation, abuse of functions and obstruction of justice.\n\nThe directive also requires member states to establish a broad **criminal liability regime for legal persons**. Under this framework, companies can be held accountable for corruption offences, including those resulting from lapses in senior management supervision. Notably, the directive reinforces this regime through obligating the use of dissuasive measures, such as fines based on global turnover and exclusion from public procurement.\n\nThe directive also strengthens **jurisdictional** rules. Member states must assert jurisdiction over offences committed on their territory or by their nationals. Furthermore, a member state can prosecute offences committed abroad without needing the state where the crime occurred to report it first. .\n\n## How these could help enhance anti-corruption enforcement\n\nThese measures aim to strengthen the EU’s enforcement capacity by expanding the legal tools available to investigate and prosecute corruption, particularly in cross-border cases.\n\nMeasures on corporate liability, for instance, will strengthen the ability of member states to address complex bribery schemes involving multinational structures.\n\nSimilarly, the enhanced jurisdictional rules will enable member states to pursue corruption cases that occurred outside their territory, even where the state in which the corruption took place is unwilling or unable to act.\n\nIn addition, the institutional and procedural framework – particularly coordination, risk assessments and dedicated enforcement bodies – should strengthen the EU’s ability to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute corruption.\n\nHowever, enforcement effectiveness will still depend heavily on national implementation capacity and political will.\n\n## Three missed opportunities: political financing, non-trial resolutions and victim participation\n\n[Previously identified](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Feus-anti-corruption-directive-enters-critical-juncture) as areas of significant potential, several key measures proposed by the European Parliament that could have further enhanced enforcement were excluded or significantly watered down in the final directive.\n\n### Political financing\n\nThe European Parliament had proposed stronger measures to tackle illicit political financing, including enhanced transparency requirements and potential criminalisation of certain violations.\n\nHowever, member states are only encouraged – not required – to address risks linked to political funding, with no binding obligation to implement transparency measures or criminalise political financing.\n\nThis leaves the EU without a harmonised framework in this area. This is a critical gap given growing concerns about how illicit funding can distort electoral processes and enable undue influence over public decision-making, both [globally](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.idea.int\u002Fnews\u002Fwhen-money-buys-power-unseen-link-between-corruption-and-political-finance) and at the [European level](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.europarl.europa.eu\u002FRegData\u002Fetudes\u002FSTUD\u002F2021\u002F653631\u002FEXPO_STU(2021)653631_EN.pdf).\n\n### Non-trial resolutions\n\nProposed mandatory frameworks for non-trial resolutions in cases involving legal persons, reflecting established practice in jurisdictions such as the [United Kingdom](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fwp-55), were not retained as binding obligations in the final directive.\n\nAs a result, this instrument does not establish a level playing field across the EU. This is likely to lead to divergent enforcement approaches, with some jurisdictions relying on negotiated resolutions while others depending on full criminal proceedings.\n\nSuch fragmentation may weaken the effective imposition of financial sanctions on companies, as well as the recovery of proceeds and their use for compensating victims of corruption or enhance [anti-corruption efforts](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fwp-59).\n\n### Victim and public participation in corruption cases\n\nThe final version of the directive requires member states to grant procedural rights to victims and members of the public affected by corruption offences. But it largely relies on existing EU frameworks and national law, providing participation rights only where they already exist domestically.\n\nBy contrast, the European Parliament’s proposal was more ambitious: it sought to define these categories explicitly, regulate their procedural rights and grant victims a clear right to compensation.\n\nAs a result, recognition of victims in corruption cases remains uneven across member states. This approach also may limit victim and civil society participation, despite growing international support for [more participatory](https:\u002F\u002Fcifar.eu\u002Ftools-networks\u002Fcivil-society-principles\u002Fvictims-in-asset-recovery) approaches.\n\n## Anti-corruption ambition is now up to member states\n\nThe directive adopts an anti-corruption approach that strengthens enforcement powers while maintaining deference to national legal systems.\n\nIts effectiveness will depend heavily on implementation, particularly where it sets only minimum standards or leaves room for national discretion. In practice, this is likely to produce uneven legal frameworks across the EU, shaped more by domestic political will than by EU-led harmonisation.\n\nMember states implementing the directive will face a choice:\n\n-   Should they adhere to the minimum requirements only?\n-   Or take the opportunity to pursue more ambitious anti-corruption reforms, including some of the broader measures originally proposed by the European Parliament?\n\nChoosing a more ambitious approach presents an opportunity to lead by example and influence future EU reform.","2026-06-08","eu-directive-enforcement","How will the EU Anti-Corruption Directive affect enforcement against corruption?","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F1a3d289c-bb83-4907-9a81-5f3e9dc9de8d?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[],[234,236],{"tags_id":235},{"id":114,"name":115},{"tags_id":237},{"id":157,"name":158},[15],[240],1382,[],[17],[],"2026-06-09T17:46:14.000Z","2026-06-24T13:28:12.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Feu-directive-enforcement",{"id":250,"body":251,"status":6,"type":10,"date":252,"slug":253,"title":254,"image":255,"countries":256,"topic":262,"activity":264,"tags":267,"nid":274,"topics":275,"activities":276,"authors":277,"images":278,"websites":279,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":280,"translation_of":8,"user_created":281,"date_created":282,"user_updated":220,"date_updated":283,"content":284,"translations_news":285,"link":286},10611,"_When states fail to hold corrupt actors to account, ordinary citizens pay the price. Corruption sanctions were born from the idea that no one should be above the law, no matter where they are in the world. In a new Working Paper, Dr Anton Moiseienko explores how these tools have evolved and offers recommendations for their more effective and legitimate use._\n\n_Here we share the foreword to his paper by the Basel Institute's Andrew Dornbierer, Head of Policy and Research, International Centre for Asset Recovery._\n\n## Foreword\n\nEvery state has an obligation to investigate and prosecute corruption within their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, many states around the world are not willing to fulfil this responsibility.\n\nAs a result, the very individuals within these states tasked with serving the public interest are instead given free rein to commit acts that not only serve themselves but also corrode the fabric of the state. And ordinary citizens have no alternative but to endure the ensuing economic and social damage.\n\nThe development of sanctions tools targeting corruption stemmed from the idea that justice should be universal; that no one in any society around the world should be above the law.\n\nThey are powerful tools, built on powerful principles. States introducing them understand that unchecked corruption will always suffocate a state’s ability to provide security, fairness and prosperity to its citizens.\n\nComparatively though, corruption sanctions are still an underdeveloped concept and are far from perfect. Only a handful of states have introduced them, and those that have are not often using them to their full potential.\n\nThey also spark valid concerns surrounding due process. These criticisms shouldn’t be ignored: they offer an insight on how these tools could be further developed and enhanced to ensure that they are more credibly and consistently applied.\n\nIn his paper, Anton Moiseienko provides an excellent and well-researched overview of how corruption sanctions could be designed and employed to better achieve their potential. He explains how these tools have evolved over the last two decades and how they could be further refined to be more effective and achieve a wider range of impact.\n\nCritically, his paper is an indispensable resource for those looking to understand exactly how such sanctions can help states deter, disrupt and debilitate the notoriously corrupt that are unreachable through standard criminal justice tools.\n\n## Learn more\n\n*   Read Dr Anton Moiseienko’s Working Paper “[Corruption sanctions: What governments need to know](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fwp-62)” for a deeper analysis of the topic and key policy recommendations.\n*   Get a brief introduction to corruption sanctions from our related [Quick Guide](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fqg43).\n*   Register for our public webinar \"[Corruption sanctions – reaching those beyond the law](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fnode\u002F2968)\" on 18 June 2026, marking the launch of Dr Moiseienko's Working Paper.","2026-06-03","holding-the-corrupt-to-account-the-promise-and-potential-of-corruption-sanctions-2979","Holding the corrupt to account: the promise and potential of corruption sanctions","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F9f5fad98-9243-40da-98d0-1271edd00df2?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[257,258,259,260,261],7808,7809,7818,7819,7820,[263],"Asset Recovery",[265,266],"Reports","Insights",[268,270,272],{"tags_id":269},{"id":149,"name":150},{"tags_id":271},{"id":157,"name":158},{"tags_id":273},{"id":153,"name":154},2979,[15],[265,266],[124],[],[17],[],"03bebfd8-0b40-4a2a-820d-b9d9c13b9de6","2026-06-04T21:13:40.000Z","2026-06-24T13:30:38.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fholding-the-corrupt-to-account-the-promise-and-potential-of-corruption-sanctions-2979",{"id":288,"body":289,"status":6,"type":105,"date":290,"slug":291,"title":292,"image":293,"countries":294,"topic":295,"activity":296,"tags":298,"nid":309,"topics":310,"activities":311,"authors":312,"images":313,"websites":8,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":314,"translation_of":8,"user_created":281,"date_created":315,"user_updated":220,"date_updated":316,"content":317,"translations_news":318,"link":319},10612,"Reducing the economic power of organised crime is essential to improving security, strengthening justice systems and supporting sustainable development across Latin America and the Caribbean. And doing that requires strong and dependable partnerships.\n\nBuilding on more than a decade of support to authorities across the region, the Basel Institute on Governance has formally joined the [Alliance for Security, Justice and Development](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.iadb.org\u002Fen\u002Fwho-we-are\u002Ftopics\u002Fmodernization-state\u002Fcitizen-security-and-justice\u002Falliance-security-justice-and-development), a regional initiative led by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).\n\nThe Alliance seeks to strengthen coordinated responses to organised crime in Latin America and the Caribbean through dialogue, cooperation, knowledge exchange and resource mobilisation.\n\n## Supporting the fight against illicit financial flows\n\nFor the Basel Institute and its International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR), participation in the Alliance represents a further opportunity to contribute its expertise in financial investigations, asset recovery, international cooperation and public financial management while working alongside governments, international organisations and other partners committed to strengthening security, justice and development across the region.\n\nExecutive Director Elizabeth Andersen signed the declaration formalising the Basel Institute’s participation in the Alliance in Washington, D.C. The signing followed close engagement between senior IDB and Alliance representatives and Oscar Solórzano, Head of ICAR Latin America.\n\n## Strengthening regional cooperation\n\nThe Alliance for Security, Justice and Development is a regional platform for dialogue, cooperation, knowledge exchange and resource mobilisation aimed at preventing and responding to organised crime in Latin America and the Caribbean.\n\nCoordinated by the IDB through its Citizen Security Division, the Alliance currently brings together 23 member states and multiple strategic partners from the international, development and security sectors.\n\nIts work is structured around three strategic pillars:\n\n*   protecting vulnerable communities from organised crime and violence;\n*   strengthening institutional resilience within security and justice systems; and\n*   reducing illicit financial flows and illicit markets to weaken the operational capacity and influence of criminal organisations.\n\n## Bringing expertise in asset recovery and financial investigations\n\nThe Basel Institute will contribute particularly to the third pillar, leaning on the expertise and two decades of experience of its specialised International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR).\n\nElizabeth Andersen stated that the Basel Institute is honoured to participate in such a high-level initiative focused on issues of critical importance for Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as for the broader international community.\n\nOscar Solórzano highlighted that the Alliance represents an important opportunity to support countries in strengthening asset recovery systems, international cooperation and institutional capacities against increasingly sophisticated forms of organised crime and illicit economies.\n\n## Building on a decade of support in Latin America\n\nOur participation builds on more than a decade of operational and technical support to authorities across Latin America in areas including financial investigations, asset recovery, international cooperation and – through a dedicated programme – public financial management.\n\nActivities under the Alliance framework are expected to begin in the region in the coming months, with our teams supporting key initiatives and technical workstreams developed through the Alliance in the years ahead.\n\nOur participation reflects our longstanding commitment to helping countries tackle corruption, illicit financial flows and organised crime, and our belief that sustainable impact is achieved through strong partnerships that bring together public authorities, international organisations and practitioners around shared goals.","2026-06-02","basel-institute-joins-regional-effort-to-strengthen-security-justice-and-development-in-latin-america-2977","Basel Institute joins regional effort to strengthen security, justice and development in Latin America","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fda8fdbf2-aea0-4009-8f38-8a04c5d8e964?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[],[263],[297],"Partnerships",[299,303,305],{"tags_id":300},{"id":301,"name":302},967,"Organised crime",{"tags_id":304},{"id":114,"name":115},{"tags_id":306},{"id":307,"name":308},1215,"Illicit financial flows",2977,[15],[297],[],[],[],"2026-06-04T21:13:42.000Z","2026-06-24T13:30:53.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fbasel-institute-joins-regional-effort-to-strengthen-security-justice-and-development-in-latin-america-2977",{"id":321,"body":322,"status":6,"type":10,"date":323,"slug":324,"title":325,"image":326,"countries":327,"topic":328,"activity":330,"tags":332,"nid":337,"topics":338,"activities":339,"authors":340,"images":341,"websites":342,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":343,"translation_of":8,"user_created":281,"date_created":344,"user_updated":220,"date_updated":345,"content":346,"translations_news":347,"link":348},10617,"As the use of virtual assets accelerates worldwide, so too does their appeal to criminal actors looking to move money faster, hide transactions more effectively and stay one step ahead of enforcement authorities.\n\nAnd it’s natural that when people discuss crypto-related crime, the focus is often on governments, regulators, law enforcement agencies and the private sector – crypto exchanges, financial institutions and blockchain intelligence firms.\n\nWhat about international organisations, non-profits, expert networks and professional associations – what role do they play behind the scenes? And how much impact can they really have when it comes to tackling illicit activity involving virtual assets?\n\nThese questions were at the centre of a [webinar](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002FIOs_virtualassets) co-hosted by the Basel Institute on Governance and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The discussion brought together experts from the OSCE, the Basel Institute, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Moldova, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime.\n\nAcross the discussion, speakers kept circling around the same point: the crypto-crime field does not need more vague talk about cooperation or more one-off awareness workshops. It needs practical, sustained and operational forms of support that help investigators, prosecutors and financial intelligence units respond to increasingly sophisticated criminal activity.\n\n## Beyond awareness raising\n\nA recurring theme throughout the discussion was the gap between recognising the problem and building the capability to address it.\n\nSpeakers noted that crypto-related crime evolves faster than most institutions can adapt. Bots on the Telegram messaging app are now providing money-laundering-as-a-service, as one speaker noted by way of example. Criminal actors – and bots – exploit regulatory gaps, fragmented information-sharing systems and uneven levels of expertise across jurisdictions.\n\nAt the same time, many authorities are still in the early stages of developing operational capacity.\n\nThis is where international organisations and networks can play an important role. Not simply by producing guidance documents or organising workshops and conferences – which are necessary but not sufficient – but by helping countries build practical and lasting capabilities.\n\nThe OSCE shared examples from its regional [project on mitigating the money laundering risks of virtual assets](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002FIOs_virtualassets), which supports participating states across Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia.\n\nOne example was Moldova’s sectoral national risk assessment on virtual assets. Beyond identifying vulnerabilities, the process helped prompt institutional action and legislative development.\n\nThe OSCE also pointed to measurable operational outcomes linked to its capacity-building support. Institutions supported through the programme, for example, traced more than USD 100 million in illicit crypto assets in 2025 alone.\n\n## Why PowerPoint presentations are not enough\n\nSeveral speakers emphasised that complex investigations involving virtual assets and asset recovery require highly specialised expertise that cannot be built through isolated workshops.\n\nInvestigators need opportunities to apply knowledge in real cases. Financial intelligence units need ongoing mentoring and technical support. Prosecutors need to understand not only the technology itself but also how to present complex digital evidence in court.\n\nThe Basel Institute highlighted the importance of long-term engagement with practitioners. The approach of its [International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR)](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fasset-recovery) includes combining case-centered training with hands-on mentoring, operational support on live cases and efforts to foster collaboration between different government agencies and with the private sector.\n\nTogether with highly effective train-the-trainer programmes, the focus is on helping agencies develop capabilities that can evolve alongside changing technologies and criminal methods, rather than delivering isolated workshops.\n\n## Networks that make cooperation operational\n\nThe webinar also challenged the tendency to talk about “international cooperation” in abstract terms. In practice, it’s difficult to develop trusting relationships between individuals and institutions operating in very different legal and cultural contexts, especially where there are language barriers.\n\nIn this environment, organisations such as the OSCE, Basel Institute, UNODC and the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime can act as connectors between sectors, jurisdictions and professional communities. They can:\n\n*   help investigators and practitioners exchange expertise and emerging typologies;\n*   create trusted channels for faster information sharing;\n*   connect authorities facing similar challenges across jurisdictions;\n*   support the development of common standards and approaches; and\n*   bridge gaps between public authorities, financial institutions and technical experts\n\nOne example is the Global Coalition’s proposal to develop a framework for sharing illict crypto wallet attribution data between public authorities – a major need, especially for jurisdictions without the resources to purchase multiple blockchain intelligence tools.\n\n## Research and analysis as a basis for action\n\nAnother important thread running through the webinar was the role of research and evidence-based analysis.\n\nAs technologies and criminal typologies evolve rapidly, policymakers and practitioners need reliable analysis rather than hype or speculation. Speakers discussed how international organisations support countries by analysing emerging threats, identifying trends and helping governments design informed legal and operational responses.\n\nSpeakers highlighted several concrete projects, such as UNODC research into [scam compounds](https:\u002F\u002Ftrack.unodc.org\u002Ftrack\u002Fen\u002Ftrack\u002Fresourcehub\u002F2025\u002Finflection_point_global_implications_of_scam_centres_underground_banking_and_illicit_online_marketplaces_in_southeast_asia.html) and cyber-enabled fraud in Southeast Asia and into the links between [cybercrime and corruption](https:\u002F\u002Ftrack.unodc.org\u002Ftrack\u002Fen\u002Ftrack\u002Fresourcehub\u002F2025\u002Fthe_nexus_between_cybercrime_and_corruption.html), and the Global Coalition’s research on links between gaming and crypto-related financial crime.\n\n## A rapidly evolving challenge\n\nThe webinar closed with a discussion on what aspects of collaboration participants would most like to strengthen in the virtual assets space.\n\nWhile perspectives differed, there was broad agreement that current models of cooperation and capacity building are still not moving fast enough to match the pace of technological change and criminal innovation.\n\nIt’s been said many times, but it warrants saying again: As virtual assets continue to evolve at breakneck speed, so too must the international response.\n\nThe discussion demonstrated that international organisations, non-profits and professional networks can have significant impact – particularly when they focus less on rhetoric and more on operational support, sustained partnerships and measurable outcomes.\n\n## Speakers\n\nWith thanks to our moderator, Vera Strobachova-Budway, Head of the Economic Governance Unit, OSCE, and to our excellent speakers:\n\n*   Erlin Agich, Associate Anti-Corruption Officer, OSCE\n*   Valentin Draganel, Deputy Head, Financial Intelligence Unit Moldova\n*   Alexandru Donciu, Specialist, Financial Investigations – Virtual Assets, Basel Institute on Governance\n*   Fabrizio Fioroni, AML\u002FCFT Advisor, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)\n*   Michal Gromek, Chair, Digital Assets Task Force, Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime\n\n## Learn more\n\n*   View the recordings: browse the [full playlist](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutube.com\u002Fplaylist?list=PLYRnhpCcnLP8mqlkcvhkC5kNXuX1M7ax4&si=HeEsEW6u_V9OnsCb) or go straight to individual interventions: [Vera Strobachova-Budway](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FPyjFVx3Da1I), [Erlin Agich](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FyxyKjh2qbc0), [Valentin Draganel](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Ffn-P6Q1Q04Y), [Alexandru Donciu](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fi6AoR2bBGGk), [Fabrizio Fioroni](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FJCET83V2nFk) and [Michal Gromek](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fb18ACqpIM64), plus the final [lightning round](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fu61VF8rxR5k).\n*   Sign up to the second joint Basel Institute-OSCE webinar on the role of [investigative journalists in tackling crime linked to virtual assets](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fjournalism_virtualassets), on 2 June 2026.\n*   Read the OSCE’s [Decoding Crypto Crime – A Guide for Law Enforcement](https:\u002F\u002Foceea.osce.org\u002Foceea\u002F587475) in multiple languages.\n*   Learn more about the [OSCE Virtual Assets project](https:\u002F\u002Fprojects.osce.org\u002Fvirtualassets).\n*   Learn about the Global Coalition’s [Digital Asset Task Force](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gcffc.org\u002Fsectors\u002Fdigital-asset-task-force-(datf)) and how you can get involved.\n\nThe Basel Institute’s training opportunities are now open to individuals – learn more about short online courses on [crypto and blockchain compliance](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcrypto-aml-training) and [financial investigations and asset recovery](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fassetrecovery-openenrolment); plus [postgraduate courses on anti-corruption and asset recovery](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fstudy).","2026-05-19","virtual-assets-real-world-crime-and-the-search-for-effective-responses-2967","Virtual assets, real-world crime and the search for effective responses","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fb16bddc0-613b-402f-baca-77cc9a835cd9?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[],[329,263],"Anti-Money Laundering",[331],"Events",[333,335],{"tags_id":334},{"id":51,"name":52},{"tags_id":336},{"id":118,"name":119},2967,[15],[331],[],[],[17],[],"2026-06-04T21:13:46.000Z","2026-06-24T13:32:32.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fvirtual-assets-real-world-crime-and-the-search-for-effective-responses-2967",{"id":350,"body":351,"status":6,"type":105,"date":352,"slug":353,"title":354,"image":355,"countries":356,"topic":357,"activity":358,"tags":359,"nid":366,"topics":367,"activities":368,"authors":369,"images":370,"websites":371,"area":8,"programme":8,"language":18,"translations":372,"translation_of":8,"user_created":281,"date_created":373,"user_updated":374,"date_updated":375,"content":376,"translations_news":377,"link":378},10620,"The Basel Institute on Governance is expanding its training offer to help more professionals build practical skills in financial investigations and asset recovery.\n\nBuilding on decades of global experience, we are launching new courses for both public-sector practitioners and non-state actors. Our hands-on, case-based training is now accessible to a wider audience than ever before.\n\n## Reaching new audiences\n\nFor the first time, our flagship financial investigations and asset recovery training is available as an open enrolment online course for individual public-sector practitioners.\n\nWe are also expanding our offer for civil society organisations, investigative journalists and other professionals outside government. These groups play a growing role in exposing financial misconduct and supporting accountability.\n\nThe new courses build on the success of our popular [Introduction to blockchain: Crypto investigation and AML compliance](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcrypto-aml-training) course. This course equips participants to tackle the misuse of cryptoassets for financial crime.\n\n## New course for public-sector practitioners\n\nThe [financial investigations and asset recovery online course](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fassetrecovery-openenrolment) is a five-day, instructor-led training for investigators, prosecutors, judges and financial intelligence practitioners.\n\nParticipants work through a realistic case. They apply practical techniques to follow financial leads across jurisdictions, analyse financial flows, gather evidence using open-source intelligence and develop effective investigative strategies.\n\nThe first open-enrolment course will take place from 20–24 July 2026.\n\n## New courses for civil society and journalists\n\nWe are also launching Asset recovery for civil society and journalists, tailored to non-state actors working to uncover corruption and track public funds. This includes private-sector professionals working in compliance or investigations.\n\nTwo formats are available:\n\n*   An [online course for individual participants](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Ffiar_csos), with the first open-enrolment session planned from 2–5 November 2026.\n*   A [tailored training programme for organisations and groups](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcourse-asset-recovery-training-civil-society-and-journalists), delivered on site or virtually.\n\nBoth formats are built around a realistic corruption case. Participants gain hands-on experience in tracing assets, analysing financial information and understanding how asset recovery works in practice.\n\n## Part of a wider learning offer\n\nThese courses complement our broader learning ecosystem.\n\nThis includes [Basel LEARN](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fbasel-learn), our free eLearning platform, and [Basel STUDY](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fstudy), our academic programmes. Together, they provide flexible pathways for professionals to build and deepen their expertise.\n\n## A proven track record\n\nThe training courses are led by practitioners from the Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR). Over the past 18 years, ICAR has trained more than 5,800 practitioners from financial intelligence units, law enforcement, prosecuting and judicial authorities in over 138 countries.\n\nAn independent study by Fondazione Safe found that our case-based, \"learning by doing\" approach drives meaningful institutional change and strengthens the effectiveness of efforts to tackle corruption and related crimes. Thierry Ravalomanda, Head of Training at ICAR, explained:\n\n> “We know from experience that practical, skills-based training makes a real difference in the fight against financial crime. By opening up our flagship courses to individual practitioners and expanding our offer for civil society and journalists, we are helping more people develop the tools they need to trace assets, follow the money and support accountability.”\n\nWith these new courses, we aim to make our expertise accessible to a broader community working to prevent, detect and address financial crime.","2026-05-07","new-training-courses-expand-access-to-financial-investigation-and-asset-recovery-skills-2961","New training courses expand access to financial investigation and asset recovery skills","https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcms\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fd35bd5ef-7211-4d1f-8ff5-4b27afe8aa5c?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=90",[],[263],[125],[360,362,364],{"tags_id":361},{"id":114,"name":115},{"tags_id":363},{"id":184,"name":185},{"tags_id":365},{"id":124,"name":125},2961,[263,127,15],[125],[],[],[17],[],"2026-06-04T21:13:49.000Z","dfef11db-1bc6-47e9-a61d-93443995484b","2026-06-24T13:39:44.000Z",[],[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fnew-training-courses-expand-access-to-financial-investigation-and-asset-recovery-skills-2961",{"left":380,"top":380,"width":381,"height":381,"rotate":380,"vFlip":382,"hFlip":382,"body":383},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>",1784043386372]