[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":272},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-ti-honours-mark-pieth-as-leading-expert-against-international-bribery-381":3,"news-ti-honours-mark-pieth-as-leading-expert-against-international-bribery-381-similar":29,"i-heroicons:arrow-left-20-solid":267},[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":17,"topics":18,"activities":19,"programme":20,"area":20,"websites":21,"language":20,"image":20,"translation_of":20,"countries":23,"tags":24,"authors":25,"images":26,"translations":27,"content":28},10275,"published","2022-05-26T22:59:39.000Z","2025-08-31T23:14:59.000Z","TI honours Mark Pieth as leading expert against international bribery","News","Prof Mark Pieth, President and Founder of the Basel Institute on Governance, has been awarded the 2007 Integrity Award by the leading international NGO anti-corruption coalition Transparency International.\n\nHe receives the award, which will be presented to him in a ceremony to be held on 21 January 2008 in Berlin, jointly with Le Hien Duc, a Vietnamese grassroots anti-corruption activist.","2007-01-20",[14],"","ti-honours-mark-pieth-as-leading-expert-against-international-bribery-381",[14],381,[],[],null,[22],"Main page",[],[],[],[],[],[],[30,65,90,116,138,161,200,223,245],{"id":31,"body":32,"status":6,"type":33,"date":34,"slug":35,"title":36,"image":37,"countries":38,"topic":41,"activity":43,"tags":48,"nid":49,"topics":50,"activities":52,"authors":53,"images":56,"websites":57,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":58,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":60,"user_updated":61,"date_updated":62,"content":63,"link":64},10285,"_Ukraine’s recovery will require billions of dollars – so leaders pledging reconstruction funds need to ensure Ukraine’s anti-corruption defences are up to the task. A joint opinion article by_ _Gretta Fenner, Managing Director, Basel Institute on Governance and Andrii Borovyk, Executive Director, Transparency International Ukraine. [View it in Ukrainian here.](https:\u002F\u002Fti-ukraine.org\u002Fblogs\u002Fne-dozvolte-vijni-kleptokrativ-zavadyty-vidbudovi-ukrayiny\u002F)_\n\nThe ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is causing unspeakable human tragedy. In addition, it is destroying the country’s economy and essential infrastructure. Rebuilding these won’t bring back those who died under Russian bombardments, but it will be critical for Ukraine’s recovery. And it is critical for Europe and the world; the war has only too dramatically illustrated how vulnerable and inter-dependent we all are.\n\nOn July 4 and 5 in Lugano, Switzerland, the Ukraine Recovery Conference will see leaders from around the world pledge hopefully billions to finance this recovery. It is estimated that up to USD 1 trillion will be needed, a sum likely to increase as the war wages on.\n\nWe applaud this and hope that these will not remain pledges, but that the urgently needed funds will be made available swiftly and generously. But in our [recommendations to those leaders](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fukraine-recovery-conference-anti-corruption-critical-condition-sustainable-recovery), we stress that where there is money, there is temptation. We highlight the need to prioritise the leadership selection process of Ukraine’s formidable anti-corruption institutions, including courts, use transparent procurement systems for reconstruction efforts, and strengthen the asset recovery systems so that they can help fuel the reconstruction efforts.\n\nEvery reconstruction effort brings with it massive corruption potential. In this regard, Ukraine will be no different from any other country which has seen a massive influx of funds as a result of natural disaster or war. Think Afghanistan, think Iraq, think the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.\n\nAnti-corruption has been high on Ukraine’s political agenda before the war. But even with significant reforms since 2014, the country is far from ready to withstand the inevitable attack by kleptocrats, organised criminal groups and corrupt officials at all levels who see a golden opportunity in Ukraine’s tragedy.\n\nLong before the Kremlin decided to invade Ukraine, it had been waging another war in Ukraine. This war pits the rule of law against the kleptocratic Soviet past which the Kremlin today wholeheartedly embraces as a vision for its present and future. Well aware that its legitimacy quickly crumbles when other countries with similar history make moves in the opposite direction, it has invented the Kremlin playbook to stop any such attempt in its tracks.\n\nWith the help of willing local enablers, it exports corruption to infiltrate the target countries’ governance, to deprive them of their resources and to destabilise their social fabric. Ultimately it destroys their statehood to the extent that in some of them, it is today those Russian sponsored kleptocratic enablers who are in charge; elected governments are kept around for a thin veneer of legitimacy.\n\nUkraine needs military support to fight back the Russian aggression, save its people and regain its territorial integrity. But Ukraine also needs anti-corruption weapons so that it can fight the kleptocratic Kremlin in this parallel war. If corruption is allowed to go unchecked, Ukraine’s reconstruction would hand a massive victory to those who benefit from this subversive kleptocratic war.\n\nTalking about corruption is never pleasant. Admitting that a country has corruption risks makes many squirm. But if we want to truly honour the heroic Ukrainian people and their sacrifices, corruption must be squarely at the centre of planning and implementation of recovery.\n\nWe urge world leaders to keep in mind these recommendations. Because if we don’t, then we allow the Kremlin to destroy Ukraine not once, but twice. And because nothing would undermine the Kleptocratic Kremlin more than a Ukraine that is able to rise from the ashes with integrity.\n\n_[See our joint recommendations in full](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2022-07\u002FUkraine-AC-recommendations_final.pdf) in English, [download the shorter infographic](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2022-07\u002FLuganoInfographic2.pdf) or view the [recommendations in Ukrainian](https:\u002F\u002Fti-ukraine.org\u002Fnews\u002Fantykoruptsiya-yak-krytychna-umova-stalogo-vidnovlennya\u002F)._\n\n_The blog post is available in Ukrainian here: [НЕ ДОЗВОЛЬТЕ ВІЙНІ КЛЕПТОКРАТІВ ЗАВАДИТИ ВІДБУДОВІ УКРАЇНИ](https:\u002F\u002Fti-ukraine.org\u002Fblogs\u002Fne-dozvolte-vijni-kleptokrativ-zavadyty-vidbudovi-ukrayiny\u002F)._","Blog","2022-07-04","dont-let-a-kleptocrats-war-destroy-ukraines-reconstruction-2245","Don’t let a kleptocrat’s war destroy Ukraine’s reconstruction","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F6c48dff8-a5ca-4d26-b214-b5af7cf4ff03?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[39,40],7242,7243,[42],"Asset Recovery",[44,45,46,47],"Events","Insights","Presentations","Partnerships",[],2245,[51],"Asset Recovery and Enforcement",[44,45,46,47],[54,55],1162,1163,[],[22],[],"03bebfd8-0b40-4a2a-820d-b9d9c13b9de6","2022-07-07T16:24:49.000Z","3d9ff205-1640-4f34-b5b6-86977f51bbd6","2026-05-29T22:22:22.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fdont-let-a-kleptocrats-war-destroy-ukraines-reconstruction-2245",{"id":66,"body":67,"status":6,"type":10,"date":68,"slug":69,"title":70,"image":71,"countries":72,"topic":74,"activity":76,"tags":77,"nid":78,"topics":79,"activities":80,"authors":81,"images":82,"websites":83,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":84,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":85,"user_updated":86,"date_updated":87,"content":88,"link":89},10368,"Ukraine’s Restoration is primarily about recovering from the immense human suffering and destruction to infrastructure and the natural environment the war has caused. But the Restoration, which has already begun, also offers a chance for Ukraine to advance towards a climate-neutral and nature-positive future in line with EU ambitions and international obligations. For that to happen, we need to expand the tide of governance reforms currently swelling in the Restoration process to also cover environmental governance.\n\nEnvironmental governance needs to be included in the Restoration from the planning stage, said leading experts and policy makers at a multi-stakeholder workshop in Berlin, Germany, on 26 May 2023. The workshop brought together leading voices from Ukraine and its European partners. The participants discussed what it would take to help Ukraine move toward a sustainable, climate-neutral and nature-positive post-war future. In essence, toward a dynamic economy within the EU, powered by renewable energy and industries producing sustainable agricultural and wood products.\n\nWe were delighted to co-organise the workshop through our [Green Corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption) team and together with WWF Central and Eastern Europe and Member of the European Parliament Viola von Cramon-Taubadel.\n\n### Raising nature and governance up the agenda\n\nEnvironmental sustainability and governance are only just starting to play a role in Restoration dialogues, as seen in [recent statements](https:\u002F\u002Fm.facebook.com\u002Fstory.php?story_fbid=pfbid0V961Xw7QqNBDS3XvachYE4EyMAtdFMckYxC2zreaxUS9n2NXernBxJ8Gc6eJm8dcl&id=100000892178040) from the Ministry of Infrastructure and [civil society recommendations](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gmfus.org\u002Fnews\u002Ftoward-marshall-plan-ukraine-0). Further elevating these topics would be wholly in line with Ukraine’s commitment to the EU integration process, the Paris Agreement and the new UN Global Biodiversity Framework.\n\nWhile climate and nature might not seem a major priority during wartime, incorporating these into the planning process will help Ukraine along its pathway to a future-proof recovery and compliance with international obligations. It will also accelerate Ukraine’s journey to joining the EU and help ensure its economy is competitive once integrated in the bloc.\n\nThe workshop participants concluded that in order to honour the sacrifices of Ukraine and Ukrainians, those involved in the Restoration process, including foreign actors, must do everything possible to help make the country environmentally safe for future generations. This is a critical moment when we must ensure the post-war Restoration helps meet Ukraine’s environmental goals.\n\nAnd it is absolutely essential not just for Ukraine, but for Europe and beyond. As one of the largest countries in the region, Ukraine's future environmental, social and economic resilience impacts overall resilience.\n\n### Practical implications\n\nIn addition to elevating climate, nature and environmental concerns to central tenets of Restoration planning, efforts will be needed to ensure a solid governance system. This would ease the flow of international recovery funds linked to green criteria and good governance requirements, and make investments more secure.\n\nSpecifically, this means:\n\n*   Extending governance reforms to the environmental sector. Ukraine has made significant strides during war time to address governance, transparency and integrity concerns. These reforms are not yet equally spread, however. Consistently extending these reforms to the natural resource and environmental sectors would be a crucial prerequisite to creating a competitive post-war economy.\n*   Ensuring a greater prominence of environmental considerations in Restoration planning efforts that are already underway. Among other benefits, this would reduce the need for the adjustments that will inevitably be required as part of EU integration.\n*   Continuing to engage civil society actors in the Restoration planning efforts, ensuring various relevant sectors, including environmental actors, are engaged.\n*   Fully utilising Ukraine’s impressive technical know-how to ensure transparency, accountability and environmental compliance.\n\nJuhani Grossmann, who leads the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption programme and is Senior Advisor for Central and Eastern Europe, said:\n\n> Ukraine is already wholeheartedly rejecting its Soviet legacy in favour of European integration, with a tremendous commitment to governance reforms in an exceptionally difficult time. Disrespect towards nature is an unfortunate part of that legacy. By demanding high environmental standards in the Restoration process – and enforcing these standards transparently – we can achieve a post-victory Ukraine that is worth living in.\n\n### Looking ahead\n\nWe look forward to participating in the London [Ukraine Recovery Conference](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.urc-international.com\u002Furc-2023-info) (#URC2023) on 21–22 June 2023, and to presenting updated recommendations on anti-corruption together with Transparency International Ukraine.\n\nAnd we will continue to encourage all participants at the URC2023 and related dialogues to ensure that sustainability and governance are key elements of the Restoration agenda.\n\nAnd most importantly, we will continue to support our Ukrainian partners in their efforts to assess and prevent corruption risks, including under a recent [Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry for Restoration](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002Ftransparent-reconstruction-ukraine-ministry-restoration-and-basel-institute-governance-sign) (Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine).\n\nLearn more\n\n*   On forestry governance issues in the context of the war and Restoration, see the Basel Institute on Governance’s recent working paper: [_How corruption threatens the forests of Ukraine: typology and case studies on corruption and illegal logging_](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fdeepdive1-ukraine).\n*   See our [joint recommendations on anti-corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fukraine-recovery-conference-anti-corruption-critical-condition-sustainable-recovery) with TI-Ukraine presented at the Lugano Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2022, the [updated version](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fstrengthening-ukraines-anti-corruption-and-judicial-infrastructure-safeguard-recovery) presented at the International Anti-Corruption Conference in December 2022 and a [joint blog](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fdont-let-kleptocrats-war-destroy-ukraines-reconstruction) by our Managing Director Gretta Fenner and TI-Ukraine Executive Director Andrii Borovyk.\n*   See a summary and photos from a recent [corruption risk assessment workshop](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbaselinstituteongovernance\u002Fposts\u002Fpfbid02K43fWYpNSt6nvzUmpdifxucL86Tzwn1t3mVfKN41YfuDBp69yaNKV1PvEUeeqGgMl) with Ukraine Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), led by Juhani Grossmann and our Senior Advisor Gemma Aiolfi.","2023-05-31","will-ukraine039s-restoration-be-climate-neutral-and-nature-positive-only-with-sound-environmental-governance-say-experts-ahead-of-the-ukraine-recovery-conference-2458","Will Ukraine's Restoration be climate neutral and nature positive? Only with sound environmental governance, say experts ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fa7585c39-5abd-4e0a-9021-3b08e9a95a1b?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[73],7181,[75],"Green Corruption",[44,46],[],2458,[75],[44,46],[],[],[22],[],"2023-06-01T10:01:26.000Z","dfef11db-1bc6-47e9-a61d-93443995484b","2026-05-08T21:11:08.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fwill-ukraine039s-restoration-be-climate-neutral-and-nature-positive-only-with-sound-environmental-governance-say-experts-ahead-of-the-ukraine-recovery-conference-2458",{"id":91,"body":92,"status":6,"type":10,"date":93,"slug":94,"title":95,"image":96,"countries":97,"topic":98,"activity":101,"tags":104,"nid":105,"topics":106,"activities":107,"authors":108,"images":109,"websites":110,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":111,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":112,"user_updated":113,"date_updated":8,"content":114,"link":115},10122,"The Basel Institute on Governance and Blomeyer & Sanz have been commissioned by Transparency International (TI) to conduct a Learning Review of Integrity Pacts (IP), a tool used in many countries for preventing corruption in public contracting.\n\nThe Learning Review builds upon the findings of an earlier study conducted by Blomeyer & Sanz in Spring 2015 on IP experiences in Europe. It aims to provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the IP approach, lessons learned from experience thus far, the IP in comparison to other forms of procurement integrity measures, and how the IP can be best carried out going forward.\n\nThe Learning Review report will be published in late 2015 or early 2016.","2015-12-01","basel-institute-conducts-study-on-integrity-pacts-487","Basel Institute conducts study on Integrity Pacts","\u002Fpics\u002Fimg-placeholder.png",[],[99,100],"Collective Action","Private Sector",[102,103],"Research","Reports",[],487,[99,100],[102,103],[],[],[22,99],[],"2022-05-26T22:59:02.000Z","b0662e2a-864d-4888-a1b7-4342b7570b30",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fbasel-institute-conducts-study-on-integrity-pacts-487",{"id":117,"body":118,"status":6,"type":14,"date":119,"slug":120,"title":121,"image":122,"countries":123,"topic":124,"activity":125,"tags":126,"nid":127,"topics":128,"activities":129,"authors":130,"images":131,"websites":132,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":133,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":134,"user_updated":61,"date_updated":135,"content":136,"link":137},9986,"The President of the Basel Institute on Governance, Professor Mark Pieth, together with his long-standing friend and renown expert Fritz Heimann, who is a founder of Transparency International (TI) and still on TI’s Advisory Council, have just released their new book: _Confronting Corruption – Past Concerns, Present Challenges and Future Strategies._ \n\nThe book looks back as far as the end of the Cold War when the first inroads were made in creating a global anti-corruption movement; it analyzes the movement’s depth in outreach and impact since then as it has led to the creation of anti-corruption initiatives, programs and treaties. From there the book draws a number of general and specific lessons and goes on to suggesting new action plans for the future.\n\nThe book can be purchased [online](https:\u002F\u002Fglobal.oup.com\u002Facademic\u002Fproduct\u002Fconfronting-corruption-9780190458331?cc=ch&lang=en&).","2017-11-20","new-book-by-mark-pieth-quotconfronting-corruptionquot-reflects-on-fighting-corruption-in-the-past-present-and-the-future-104","New book by Mark Pieth: \"Confronting Corruption\" reflects on fighting corruption in the past, present and the future","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fe80a9b49-c14c-4e48-8841-febf5afb008b?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[14],[14],[],104,[],[],[],[],[22],[],"2022-05-26T22:58:05.000Z","2026-04-15T22:28:48.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fnew-book-by-mark-pieth-quotconfronting-corruptionquot-reflects-on-fighting-corruption-in-the-past-present-and-the-future-104",{"id":139,"body":140,"status":6,"type":33,"date":141,"slug":142,"title":143,"image":96,"countries":144,"topic":145,"activity":148,"tags":149,"nid":150,"topics":151,"activities":152,"authors":153,"images":155,"websites":156,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":157,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":158,"user_updated":113,"date_updated":8,"content":159,"link":160},10157,"Last month, I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the conference “[Integrity Pacts – Safeguarding EU Funds](http:\u002F\u002Fec.europa.eu\u002Fregional_policy\u002Fen\u002Fconferences\u002Fintegrity_pacts\u002F)” in Brussels, hosted by Transparency International (TI) and with the participation of the European Commission. The conference was held in the context of a [pilot project](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.transparency.org\u002Fen\u002Fprojects\u002Fintegritypacts) recently launched by the Commission - \"Integrity Pacts - Civil Control Mechanism for Safeguarding EU Funds\" – which will explore the applicability of Integrity Pacts to EU Structural and Cohesion Funds through a number of pilot projects.  The results and lessons learned from these pilot projects will then be shared and disseminated at EU level.\n\nThe conference on 5 May brought together over 100 representatives from civil society, as well as from EU funds managing authorities in Member States and EU institutions, with speakers from EU institutions, TI chapters across Europe, and other European civil society organisations. The morning session outlined some of the main corruption risks in public procurement, before introducing other civil society monitoring mechanisms in public procurement projects. The second half of the conference explored the Integrity Pact in depth, while also presenting a number of case studies and shared experiences from the perspectives of a variety of stakeholders. Presentations from all of the conference speakers are available on the website of [Transparency International EU Office](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.transparencyinternational.eu\u002F).\n\nHLRM and Integrity Pacts\n------------------------\n\nIt was in this context of the morning session on civil society monitoring mechanisms in public procurement that I presented the [High Level Reporting Mechanism](\u002Fnode\u002F1098) (HLRM) as a tool to address bribery solicitation. \n\nThe concept of the HLRM was developed by the Basel Institute on Governance, OECD and Transparency International, together with a group of international companies seeking alternatives to slower judicial processes. Though not a legal mechanism, the HLRM functions in complement to law enforcement institutions. It aims to provide a constructive approach for companies and governments through the development of an in-country process for receiving, assessing, and quickly resolving complaints from companies affected by bribe requests in their dealings with officials at the level of administrative processes or specific public projects. Its primary purpose is thus to provide an early point of recourse to companies to address their concerns and prescribe a ‘quick fix’ before they lead to preventable harm.\n\nDespite the differences between the two models, the HLRM and the Integrity Pact can in fact complement one another towards promoting good governance in public procurement. This is currently the case in Colombia, which is implementing an HLRM in the context of a roads infrastructure project. All pre-selected bidding companies are required to sign an Integrity Pact in addition to acknowledging the availability of the reporting mechanism in cases of irregularities. This combination of the HLRM and Integrity Pact may be an area for further study and application in certain contexts.\n\nCall for proposals for the Pilot\n--------------------------------\n\nTransparency International has championed Integrity Pacts since the 1990s as a mechanism to improve, transparency, accountability and to promote good governance in public procurement. Though widely used already throughout the world in various contexts, Integrity Pacts have until now seen limited use in the context of EU Structural Funds. In this regard, the introduction of Integrity Pacts looks to be a promising initiative.\n\nWith a 2014-2020 financial allocation for regional and cohesion policy at over EUR 350 billion – [a third of the overall EU budget](https:\u002F\u002Fepthinktank.eu\u002F2013\u002F11\u002F14\u002F2014-20-multiannual-financial-framework-mff\u002F) – it is imperative that these funds are managed with integrity and free of corruption.","2015-06-11","integrity-pacts-safeguarding-eu-funds-276","Integrity Pacts – safeguarding EU funds",[],[99,146,147,100],"HLRM","Integrity Pacts",[44,45],[],276,[99,146,147,100],[44,45],[154],1321,[],[22,99],[],"2022-05-26T22:59:13.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fintegrity-pacts-safeguarding-eu-funds-276",{"id":162,"body":163,"status":6,"type":10,"date":164,"slug":165,"title":166,"image":167,"countries":168,"topic":170,"activity":173,"tags":174,"nid":187,"topics":188,"activities":190,"authors":191,"images":192,"websites":194,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":195,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":196,"user_updated":86,"date_updated":197,"content":198,"link":199},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.","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",[169],7266,[99,100,75,171,172],"Prevention"," Research and Innovation",[47],[175,179,183],{"tags_id":176},{"id":177,"name":178},1236,"Compliance",{"tags_id":180},{"id":181,"name":182},1378,"Public financial management",{"tags_id":184},{"id":185,"name":186},859,"Corruption risks",2205,[99,100,75,189],"Prevention Research and Innovation",[47],[],[193],1,[22,99],[],"2022-05-26T22:51:53.000Z","2026-05-08T21:11:00.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fgreen-corruption-programme-launches-5-year-partnership-with-usaid-indonesia-integrity-initiative-2205",{"id":201,"body":202,"status":6,"type":10,"date":203,"slug":204,"title":205,"image":206,"countries":207,"topic":209,"activity":210,"tags":211,"nid":212,"topics":213,"activities":214,"authors":215,"images":216,"websites":217,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":218,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":219,"user_updated":61,"date_updated":220,"content":221,"link":222},10328,"The war in Ukraine has caused hundreds of billions of dollars of damage so far, including to critical infrastructure. Funding the country's ongoing and post-war reconstruction efforts is a topic very much under debate. Some suggest that assets frozen under war-related sanctions could be used to partly fund the reconstruction. Could they? How?\n\nTogether with the Basel Institute, [Transparency International Ukraine](https:\u002F\u002Fti-ukraine.org\u002Fen\u002F) hosted a session at the [International Anti-Corruption Conference 2022](https:\u002F\u002Fiaccseries.org\u002F) in Washington D.C. to explore these questions with those on the front lines of tracing, freezing and seizing assets subject to sanctions.\n\nThe session aimed to generate a realistic understanding of options for recovering assets frozen under sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. It also sought to identify and promote new instruments that countries could introduce for this purpose. Ultimately, these discussions and actions will contribute to global efforts to accelerate asset recovery and push boundaries of current practice.\n\n### Takeaways\n\n*   The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has given impetus to the country’s asset recovery efforts. A specialised Freeze and Seize Task Force was set up within the Prosecutor General's Office to help freeze, seize and confiscate Russian assets; its mandate has now expanded to cover assets related to sanctions. A legislative amendment has expanded the range of crimes under which assets may be forfeited. In addition, a new [administrative procedure](https:\u002F\u002Fti-ukraine.org\u002Fen\u002Fnews\u002Fmechanisms-for-confiscation-of-russian-assets-what-does-the-legislation-say\u002F) has been established that enables assets related to Russian aggression and sanctions to be forfeited; five cases are already proceeding. This fresh momentum is significant, given the slow progress in Ukraine’s previous efforts to recover stolen assets.\n*   Though unprecedented in their number and scope, the sanctions imposed on Russian individuals and companies, as well as the Russian state, are temporary and non-punitive. This means they are not a legal basis for confiscation. Confiscation would usually require a criminal conviction or a judgement under non-conviction based forfeiture or unexplained wealth\u002F[illicit enrichment](https:\u002F\u002Fillicitenrichment.baselgovernance.org\u002F) legislation.\n*   Efforts to target kleptocratic assets need to extend beyond the assets themselves – yachts, airplanes, bank accounts, etc. – to the surrounding infrastructure, from service providers to so-called enablers. These efforts can and already have incentivised individuals and companies to proactively identify assets subject to sanctions that may otherwise have missed.\n*   The significance of international efforts to proactively target the assets of sanctioned individuals goes beyond the utility of putting pressure on Russia’s political establishment. The efforts send a powerful message of the strong political commitment among Ukraine’s international partners to cut off the financing of Russia’s war machine and to support Ukraine’s citizens in defending their sovereign nation. Where frozen assets can subsequently be confiscated, the funds could potentially be of significant utility in Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery.\n*   International cooperation between Ukraine and other states on asset recovery has strengthened considerably, particularly in the EU and US. The establishment of dedicated taskforces has helped. There is a welcome openness among international partners to explore every possible avenue to admit dual criminality, including under civil \u002F non-conviction based forfeiture laws and other such laws that are effective but not yet widely in use.\n*   Enforcing criminal penalties for attempted sanctions evasion could be a powerful option for confiscating at least some of the assets currently frozen. In Europe, following a Council Decision on 28 November 2022 that [adds sanctions violation](https:\u002F\u002Fec.europa.eu\u002Fcommission\u002Fpresscorner\u002Fdetail\u002Fen\u002Fqanda_22_7373) to the list of EU-wide crimes, the European Commission is putting forward a new directive that harmonises criminal definitions and penalties for violating sanctions. One positive effect of making sanctions evasion an EU-wide crime is that it helps to mobilise authorities across the board, from asset recovery agencies to financial intelligence units.\n*   Private assets, corporate assets and sovereign assets require different mechanisms of seizure, forfeiture and disposal. Sovereign Russian assets that have been frozen could potentially be placed in an escrow account or trust fund, to be returned only if there is a peace agreement and as part of a binding reparation agreement. Other mechanisms would need to be applied for private and corporate assets.\n*   A compensation mechanism would ease the use of confiscated private or corporate assets to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery. Such a mechanism would need to be developed through close cooperation with Ukraine’s authorities and civil society, to ensure it aligns with the approach to compensations developed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice and the related General Assembly resolution.\n*   Ukraine’s vibrant civil society has a strong role to play in providing specialist expertise and oversight throughout the process. Civil society representatives have been in constant communication with the EU taskforce, for example, and as Anton Korynevych stated: “From the perspective of the Ukrainian Government, cooperation with civil society is of utmost importance in all areas related to accountability.”\n*   The urgency of efforts to confiscate kleptocratic assets needs to be balanced with respect for due process and the rule of law. Ambition, creativity and pushing boundaries are all welcome – indeed essential. But pushing too far could risk hurting Ukraine more than it helps, and undermining the very principles for which anti-corruption advocates in the democratic world have fought for so long. Ukrainian civil society can help keep that focus on asset recovery mechanisms that work in practice and respect the rule of law that they and their compatriots are fighting to preserve.\n\n### About the session\n\nThe session took place at [International Anti-Corruption Conference 2022](https:\u002F\u002Fiaccseries.org\u002F) on 9 December 2022 and was organised by Transparency International Ukraine together with the Basel Institute on Governance. Many thanks to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Ukraine programme at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs for their continued support to the Basel Institute and to asset recovery efforts in Ukraine, among many other valuable programmes.\n\nGretta Fenner moderated the panel, which featured:\n\n*   Péter Csonka, Deputy Director, Directorate Criminal Justice, Directorate General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission\n*   Anton Korynevych, Head of Freeze and Seize Task Force, Ukraine\n*   David Lim, Deputy Director, Task Force KleptoCapture, Department of Justice, United States\n*   Kateryna Ryzhenko, Deputy Executive Director for Legal Affairs, Transparency International Ukraine\n\n[View the video recording](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=E-C80WdMUkI). \n\nSee other [#IACC2022 sessions](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fbasel-iacc2022) in which the Basel Institute and partners were involved.","2022-12-10","asset-recovery-developments-since-the-start-of-the-war-in-ukraine-2330","Asset recovery developments since the start of the war in Ukraine","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F7fa266f5-a283-4ea6-ab90-dddfbb9a1a70?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[208],7206,[42],[44,45,46],[],2330,[51],[44,45,46],[],[],[22],[],"2022-12-12T11:01:25.000Z","2026-05-29T22:22:24.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fasset-recovery-developments-since-the-start-of-the-war-in-ukraine-2330",{"id":224,"body":225,"status":6,"type":33,"date":226,"slug":227,"title":228,"image":229,"countries":230,"topic":231,"activity":232,"tags":233,"nid":234,"topics":235,"activities":236,"authors":237,"images":238,"websites":239,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":240,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":241,"user_updated":61,"date_updated":242,"content":243,"link":244},10417,"How can corruption affect peace and security? Where does corruption influence or intersect with geopolitics? And how can peace-building and anti-corruption serve a common goal?\n\nA two-hour workshop at [Basel Peace Forum 2024](https:\u002F\u002Fbasel-peace.org\u002Fbpf-2024\u002F), organised by [Swisspeace](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.swisspeace.ch\u002F), delved into these questions and more. Moderated by Gretta Fenner, Managing Director at the Basel Institute on Governance, the panel looked at some of the most critical intersections of corruption, security, peace and geopolitics.\n\nOur thanks to the engaged audience and fantastic panel of speakers from [Transparency International’s Defence and Security programme](https:\u002F\u002Fti-defence.org\u002F), [NAKO – the Independent Defence Anti-Corruption Commission of Ukraine](https:\u002F\u002Fnako.org.ua\u002Fen), the [Centre for the Study of Democracy](https:\u002F\u002Fcsd.bg\u002F) in Bulgaria and our own Prevention, Research and Innovation team.\n\nThe main takeaway? The urgency of more collaboration and knowledge exchange between the anti-corruption, peace building and defence and security fields. As Gretta Fenner said in her closing remarks:\n\n> It’s time to fight for peace through anti-corruption and to fight corruption through peace building.\n\n### Corruption: about power and influence\n\nWhen we look at corruption in the context of peace, stability and geopolitics, we must first understand that when we say “corruption”, we mean more than “just” the bribery often associated with the word corruption. Instead, the notion of corruption encompasses behaviours like patronage, nepotism, embezzlement, influence peddling or the manipulation of legislative processes with a corrupt objective.\n\nAny of these corrupt practices can serve a one-off purpose. But they are more often than not employed as part of a long-term game, for example to gain or preserve power or geopolitical influence. This is when we can refer to it as “strategic corruption”.\n\nThat understanding of corruption as a functional instrument of power and influence helps us to see why corruption is so relevant to peace and security. As Claudia Baez Camargo, Head of Prevention, Research and Innovation, Basel Institute on Governance, said:\n\n> Corruption has a direct effect on the manner in which state power is exercised. As such, it affects security outcomes… Strategic corruption relies on building strategic transboundary networks where financial and political interests are intermixed. Those networks that can be activated and instrumentally used to destabilise and to threaten and to cause harm to other states.\n\nSee more about understanding corruption and security through the lens of power and functionality in this [blog](http:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002Fhow-strategic-corruption-fuels-insecurity-affecting-power) by Claudia and her colleague Saba Kassa.\n\n### Strategic corruption affects Europe\n\nRussia provides a standout example of the strategic use of corruption to achieve geopolitical goals, said panellists. Martin Vladimirov of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and co-author of the [_The Kremlin Playbook_](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.csis.org\u002Fprograms\u002Feurope-russia-and-eurasia-program\u002Fprojects\u002Frussia-and-eurasia\u002Fkremlin-playbook) explained how Putin’s regime achieves political influence in Europe by activating a network of oligarchs with commercial interests on both sides of the border:\n\n> The Kremlin is able to weaponise the oligarchic networks that have been established between Russian companies and European counterparts in order to achieve an outsized political influence.\n\nEurope needs to wake up to that quickly, warned Olena Tregub, Secretary General of NAKO, the Independent Defence Anti-Corruption Commission of Ukraine:\n\n> In order to dominate countries, Russia uses corruption as a foreign policy tool. It is penetrating into the energy landscape, the media landscape, into education, culture and the financial sector. It’s important to find those corrupt influences in Europe, expose them and stop them from happening. They are making Europe weaker and more vulnerable.\n\n### Treating corruption as a security issue\n\nAttention to the nexus between corruption, peace, defence and security grew after the U.S. [established corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.whitehouse.gov\u002Fbriefing-room\u002Fpresidential-actions\u002F2021\u002F06\u002F03\u002Fmemorandum-on-establishing-the-fight-against-corruption-as-a-core-united-states-national-security-interest\u002F) as a “core issue of national security” in 2021.\n\nElevating corruption to the level of security means that governments need to look at corruption across the state apparatus. The implication is that anti-corruption should form a central part of both domestic security and foreign policy. In other words, corruption can no longer be treated as a side issue.\n\nAra Marcen Naval, Head of Advocacy Defence and Security at Transparency International, argued:\n\n> Designating corruption as a national security issue means that corruption cannot take a back seat to other security priorities. It means that it has to be a priority for foreign policy… It means that we need to build governance closer to security.\n\nIn some cases, she said, this may mean bringing oversight and accountability mechanisms to the defence sector and arms trade, both of which have traditionally been rather closed and secretive. Tools like freedom of information, beneficial ownership transparency and whistleblower protection could play a greater role in ensuring a country’s defence sector is resilient to corruption and stronger as a result.\n\nAt the very least, panellists mentioned the need to take corruption risks into account in strategic defence planning and when negotiating peace deals or working in conflict-afflicted areas.\n\n### Bringing anti-corruption, peace and security together\n\nCorruption may be a useful tool for unscrupulous elites to gain power, money and influence at home and abroad – but _anti-corruption_ reforms and tools can also help strengthen security.\n\nOlena Tregub emphasised that\n\n> anti-corruption reforms since 2014 were crucial in creating a stronger Ukrainian state, a resilient state which would be able to survive Russian invasion.\n\nSo too, she said, was Ukraine’s strong and engaged civil society – a hallmark of a state that takes fighting corruption seriously.\n\nAnd of course, the links go deeper than military defence. Corruption and poor governance undermine peace and security by fuelling organised crime and terrorism, increasing inequality and radicalisation, and undermining trust in institutions.\n\nWhere to start? The first step is to encourage more collaboration and knowledge exchange between the anti-corruption, peace building and defence and security fields. We have a lot to learn from each other.\n\n### Learn more\n\n*   Gretta Fenner will moderate a panel discussion on corruption and security at the [Munich Security Conference 2024](https:\u002F\u002Fsecurityconference.org\u002Fen\u002Fmsc-2024\u002F) from 16–18 February 2024.\n*   Related blog: [How (strategic) corruption fuels insecurity by affecting power](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002Fhow-strategic-corruption-fuels-insecurity-affecting-power).\n*   Learn more about the [Basel Peace Forum](https:\u002F\u002Fbasel-peace.org\u002Fbpf-2024\u002F).","2024-02-13","fighting-corruption-to-promote-peace-and-security-basel-peace-forum-2024-2583","Fighting corruption to promote peace and security: Basel Peace Forum 2024","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F30911b00-fd61-462b-8ee2-89fcfa023e2d?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[42,171,172],[44,45],[],2583,[51,189],[44,45],[],[],[22],[],"2024-02-13T11:01:29.000Z","2026-05-29T22:22:28.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Ffighting-corruption-to-promote-peace-and-security-basel-peace-forum-2024-2583",{"id":246,"body":247,"status":6,"type":10,"date":248,"slug":249,"title":250,"image":251,"countries":252,"topic":254,"activity":255,"tags":256,"nid":257,"topics":258,"activities":259,"authors":260,"images":261,"websites":262,"area":20,"programme":20,"language":20,"translations":263,"translation_of":20,"user_created":59,"date_created":264,"user_updated":113,"date_updated":8,"content":265,"link":266},10115,"Experts from the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) were in Kigali, Rwanda on 25-27 January to support the country’s Office of the Ombudsman in developing Collective Action strategies for public-private sector cooperation to tackle corruption.\n\nTo kick-start this process, a workshop on the topic was held on 26 January in Kigali, preceded by preparatory meetings with the Office of the Ombudsman and the Private Sector Federation, the latter being an umbrella organisation representing the business Chambers and Associations in Rwanda. The workshop brought together roughly 80 participants, mostly from a cross-section of the Rwandan private sector, as well as members of the public sector, and civil society. The event was opened by the Ombudsman, Ms Aloysie Cyanzayire and the meeting was facilitated by the Permanent Secretary of the Ombudsman’s office Mr Xavier Mbarubukeye and Gemma Aiolfi of the ICCA.\n\nIn the presentations by Will Nero and Gemma Aiolfi, a variety of examples of anti-corruption Collective Action as a tool to promote trust, and to create a sustained dialogue with the aim of identifying joint activities for the private and public sectors, were described as an introduction to the workshop participants as to what might be possible for them to achieve through Collective Action.\n\nIn the second half of the workshop, small group sessions provided opportunities for in-depth exchanges between business and government with members of the Ombudsman office acting as facilitators to the discussions. Both private sector representatives and the civil servants raised examples of corruption challenges that they faced in their daily operations, as well as pointing to good practices among both sectors to mitigate corruption risks, and recommendations for further continuation of the dialogue and what more the private and public sector could do together to prevent corruption.\n\nThe ICCA and the Office of the Ombudsman will consolidate the ideas that emerged from the discussions, presenting main resolutions and suggested activities for implementation, with follow up through the office of the Ombudsman and the ICCA.\n\nThe visit to Kigali by Gemma Aiolfi and Will Nero happened to coincide with Transparency International Rwanda’s press conference on 27 January 2016 to announce the results of the 2015 edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index. The ICCA provided comments to the press corps on hand, supporting the speakers from TI and the Deputy Ombudsman Mr Clement Musangabatware, who noted the progress made by Rwanda to improve its ranking in the annual CPI, while also stating that work is still much needed to improve collaboration between the public and private sector to tackle all forms of corruption, as well as greater interaction between Rwanda and regional states on anti-corruption best practice.","2016-01-29","promoting-public-private-cooperation-to-counter-corruption-in-rwanda-with-the-office-of-the-ombudsman-294","Promoting public-private cooperation to counter corruption in Rwanda with the Office of the Ombudsman","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F6db74b77-ca1b-4ebe-9001-d9d30f11be4b?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[253],7670,[99,100],[14],[],294,[99,100],[],[],[],[22,99],[],"2022-05-26T22:59:00.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fpromoting-public-private-cooperation-to-counter-corruption-in-rwanda-with-the-office-of-the-ombudsman-294",{"left":268,"top":268,"width":269,"height":269,"rotate":268,"vFlip":270,"hFlip":270,"body":271},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>",1780676468770]