Financial investigations
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Specialising in asset recovery: why this Argentinian prosecutor decided to take the leap
“When it comes to economic crime, securing a conviction is not always enough. If we do not recover the assets, we are not returning to society what was stolen from it.” This realisation marked a turning point in the career of Julio Petrucci, a prosecutor at the Attorney General’s Office of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Driven by this mindset and by his desire to keep pace with the way crime operates today, Petrucci decided to enrol in the postgraduate programme “CAS Combating Financial Crime Through Asset Recovery” delivered by the Basel Institute on Governance together with the University of Basel. In this interview, he tells us about the challenges of his work, the issues demanding greater specialisation and the advice he has for other public servants who, like him, are striving to serve their citizens better. A prosecutor’s work requires constant adaptation. What motivates your daily work and what challenges do you face? My main motivation is to try to do good and to help repair what is broken in society when a crime is committed. In my country, as well as across the region, there are many economic difficulties and high levels of social inequality. Many people who become victims of crime rely on the Public Prosecutor's Office and other public institutions for support. As a prosecutor, I want to be able to provide these victims with answers and practical tools. Over time, I began to realise that my initial training was largely focused on crime in traditional, physical settings. However, crime scenes are often digital or have a strong financial component. That's when I identified the need to look for new tools to strengthen my investigations. It was through this search that I discovered the Basel Institute on Governance and its educational programmes. Why did you choose the Basel Institute programme to specialise in asset recovery? I was particularly interested in the specialised programme on asset recovery for three reasons: - first, because asset recovery is a highly relevant and rapidly growing field; - second, because I could not find other advanced courses offering this level of specialisation in countering financial crime; - and third, because of the international reputation of the Basel Institute on Governance and the University of Basel. What change in perspective did this training bring to your professional career? The course marked a before and after in my career. In Argentina, asset recovery is still a developing field. Historically, we have analysed criminal cases with the aim of securing convictions. However, when it comes to economic crime, securing a conviction is not always enough. If we do not recover the assets, we are not returning to society what was stolen from it. Throughout the course, I learned not only about the different legal frameworks that exist around the world in this area, but also how to apply them to specific cases. The academic team and the online learning platforms were excellent. All this new knowledge and practical tools are already proving extremely useful in my day-to-day work. They have even contributed to my professional growth in ways that I am not yet able to comment on officially. This was also my first international experience. I got to meet people from different countries and professional backgrounds, which was very enriching. You were able to join the programme thanks to a scholarship. What did this support mean to you? I am a public official in a country facing significant economic challenges. The salaries of public officials like me, both in Argentina and across Latin America, are not particularly high. In this context, I saw that the Basel Institute offered financial support through the Gretta Fenner Scholarship Fund and decided to apply for it. From the outset, the team was very receptive. After some interviews, I was awarded a partial scholarship thanks to the funds they had raised, which allowed me to take the course. To donors and benefactors, I would say that their contribution is not just individual support for a student: it is a direct investment in justice systems in our countries. Thanks to their contribution, I now have the tools to investigate complex crimes and recover assets that belong to society. Why would you recommend this training to other prosecutors or investigators in the region? When you work in public service, and especially in a role such as that of a prosecutor, it is very difficult to look beyond what you see in your daily work. But crime is changing. In fact, it has already changed, and if we do not adapt, we will not be able to do our jobs effectively or help repair what is broken in society when a crime is committed. For this reason, I encourage prosecutors and others interested in tackling financial crime to step outside their day-to-day routine and take courses like this. I highly recommend this programme to them, not only because of its academic quality but also because of the quality and dedication of the Basel Institute team. It was an incredible experience. Thank you, Julio, for sharing your story and highlighting the impact this postgraduate programme has had on your professional journey. Julio Petrucci is just one of many talented professionals who have been able to take this course thanks to the Gretta Fenner Scholarship Fund. We are deeply grateful to all those who have generously contributed, and continue to contribute, to this fund, especially the International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, Bonifassi Avocats, Bennett Jones, ECO Strategic Communications and Kellerhals Carrard. Learn more ::: links - Discover “Combating Financial Crime Through Asset Recovery” - Postgraduate programme delivered online in partnership with the University of Basel. - Contribute to the Gretta Fenner Scholarship Fund - Help train the next generation of anti-corruption professionals. - Discover our offer of short online training courses - Practitioner-led training focused on real-world financial crime challenges. :::
Asset recovery postgraduate programme: Celebrating our first graduating cohort
How and where can a professional acquire specialised knowledge in asset recovery? A year ago, that question didn’t have an easy answer. Today, it does: with the postgraduate programme "CAS Combating Financial Crime Through Asset Recovery", offered by the Basel Institute on Governance and the University of Basel. This July, we were delighted to welcome the first cohort to our headquarters in Basel and host the 1.5-day hybrid closing event. Here are a few highlights from the programme, and what participants themselves had to say about their experience. A programme unique in its class This Certificate of Advanced Studies CAS was developed to address a longstanding gap in postgraduate education. While aspects of asset recovery are covered in some university courses, there has until now been no similar qualification combining academic learning with practical skills. The programme draws on more than two decades of experience from our International Centre for Asset Recovery ICAR , which has worked with authorities around the world to strengthen financial investigations, asset recovery and international cooperation. Graduates receive a CAS degree from the University of Basel, one of Switzerland's leading universities. A global classroom The first cohort brought together prosecutors, investigators, lawyers, anti-money laundering specialists, development practitioners, bankers and policy professionals from 10 countries across Africa, South America, Asia and Europe. The online format with live sessions helped make that possible. It gave participants the flexibility to join from anywhere in the world and balance the course with their day-to-day work – and, just as importantly, to connect with peers working under completely different legal systems. That’s exactly the kind of contact that matters for international cooperation. As one participant from Europe explained: The exchange with other participants working in different jurisdictions was extremely valuable. That was crucial for seeing how asset recovery is approached differently elsewhere, and what options other jurisdictions have. Asset recovery is a global issue now – money moves across the world, so you can't just sit in your office thinking everything stops at the border. The cohort also spanned different levels of expertise, from prosecutors to lawyers working in cybercrime to people just entering the field. As another participant, who works in development cooperation, explains: After having worked for two decades in development cooperation, I realised that if less money was lost to financial crime, countries could decide more autonomously where to invest in their own development. So I got interested in the topic of money laundering, and how we could get better at fighting it. Learning by doing When we asked participants what they found most valuable or unique about the programme, the answer was always the same: its practical approach. Asset recovery is a complex discipline that spans financial investigations, international cooperation, prosecution and the management and return of confiscated assets. Professionals working in this field need not only legal knowledge, but the practical skills that can be applied across different jurisdictions and institutional settings. Over six months, the cohort engaged in interactive online sessions built around real cases and realistic simulated investigation exercises, guided by practitioners who have investigated and prosecuted financial crime themselves. A participant from Uruguay explains: In most certifications, the focus tends to stay on theory and definitions, spending a lot of time discussing ethical and regulatory issues. But in this case, it was so case-specific and applied that by the end, you know what you have to do, you know how to investigate and you know the steps for asset recovery. The final project: a professional opportunity That practical focus culminates in the personal project each participant is now completing in order to graduate: a chance to advance a project from their own work, a side interest or simply an area they want to explore in more depth. One participant is taking the programme to build up a specialised Asset Recovery Office within the Ministry of Justice. It tackles the problem that currently, competence is split between the prosecutor's office and the police, and neither magistrates nor police officers have the same view of the data. Another participant is working on a proposal to bring public-private collaboration to her country's asset recovery efforts. She noticed a clear gap: information that should flow between the two sectors simply wasn't being exchanged. Throughout the programme, she tested her model with instructors, refining it with their feedback. Her final project now sets out how that collaboration could actually work in practice. Discussing future career steps The closing event was also a chance to look ahead to the careers and opportunities this certificate can open. An exclusive panel discussion showcased the breadth of career paths in combating financial crime, bringing together experts from international organisations, the public sector and private industry. The panel featured Kodjo Attisso Coordinator of the Illicit Finance Fusion Center – Africa at UNODC , Federica Maschera Group Financial Crime Engagement Manager at HSBC Holdings plc , Pedro Gomes Pereira Advisor on Anti-Corruption and Asset Recovery and Maria Schnebli Federal Prosecutor at the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland . The panellists shared their career paths and challenges in the various sectors, and the steps they took to get to their current affiliations. Maria Schnebli also gave a keynote speech on international collaboration and the challenges of combating financial crime from a Swiss prosecutor's perspective. This tied in perfectly with the work the students had done throughout the course. The Gretta Fenner Scholarship Fund Some students in this cohort could only take the course thanks to financial support. We launched the Gretta Fenner Scholarship Fund to help cover tuition costs for talented professionals from low-income backgrounds. We have received, and continue to receive, generous donations from organisations and individuals alike. Julio Petrucci, a prosecutor at the Attorney General's Office of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was one of the participants who benefited. As he puts it: To donors and benefactors, I would say that your contribution isn't just individual support for one student – it's a direct investment in justice across our countries. Thanks to your contribution, I now have the tools to investigate complex crimes and recover assets that belong to society. We are deeply grateful to our donors for making these opportunities possible, especially the International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, Bonifassi Avocats, Bennett Jones, ECO Strategic Communications and Kellerhals Carrard. Another way to build capacity As the first cohort prepares to graduate, the programme marks another step in the Basel Institute's efforts to strengthen global capacity to investigate financial crime, recover stolen assets, and build a new generation of practitioners connected through a worldwide community of practice. Along with our second postgraduate programme, “CAS Mastering Today’s Anti-Corruption Challenges”, it marks our current portfolio of practice related academic programmes to support careers, knowledge and skills development of talented international professionals and practitioners. Congratulations to all the participants of this first cohort. Learn more ::: links - Discover “Combating Financial Crime Through Asset Recovery” - Postgraduate programme delivered online in partnership with the University of Basel. - Contribute to the Gretta Fenner Scholarship Fund - Help train the next generation of anti-corruption professionals. - Discover our offer of short online training courses - Practitioner-led training focused on real-world financial crime challenges. :::
How Peru is making asset recovery a frontline tool against organised crime
A joint reflection by Iker Lekuona, Director of the Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery ICAR and Oscar Solórzano, Head of Latin America for ICAR, on how Peru is translating its commitment to combating organised crime into lasting institutional capability. Across Latin America, governments face mounting pressure to respond to organised crime, illicit finance and growing public concerns about security. At the same time, international development budgets are under strain. In this environment, one question keeps resounding: how can countries build capacity to tackle complex criminal threats with greater independence and resilience? For those of us working in asset recovery, the answer lies in institutions. Our goal in building asset recovery capability One of the ambitions behind ICAR’s technical assistance has always been straightforward. We want our partners to reach the point where they no longer rely on us for day-to-day operational support. Our partnerships should evolve towards higher-value strategic collaboration. Technical assistance should leave behind stronger systems, stronger expertise and stronger institutions capable of carrying the work forward independently. This is why recent developments in Peru are particularly significant. A strategic response to financial and organised crime Under the leadership of Attorney General Tomás Aladino Gálvez Villegas, the Public Prosecutor's Office is implementing a series of reforms that embed financial investigation, asset recovery and institutional coordination at the heart of Peru's response to organised crime. The reforms form part of the Sistema Fiscal Integrado de Recuperación de Activos SFIRA or “Integrated Prosecutorial Asset Recovery System”. At a meeting in May this year with Attorney General Gálvez and senior colleagues, we reflected on the challenges posed by modern organised crime and the need for institutions that can respond to increasingly sophisticated illicit financial flows. Regarding the intent behind the reforms, the Attorney General commented: We cannot continue expecting different results while relying on the same institutional approaches. Organised crime has evolved, and so must we. This reform reflects our determination to move beyond declarations of intent and build the permanent capabilities that prosecutors need to confront increasingly sophisticated criminal organisations. Reflecting on impact of the Basel Institute’s technical assistance through ICAR, he said: We value the support that the Basel Institute on Governance has provided over the years, and we invite the Basel Institute, our government institutions and the wider international community to join us in this effort. Confronting organised crime is a shared challenge that requires a shared commitment. This is how we turn commitment into practical action. Having worked closely with the Peruvian authorities for more than a decade, we believe this direction will be transformative for the country and its people. We also believe other jurisdictions can be inspired by this strategic, systemic response. We share some of the reasoning and details below. Organised crime is a financial phenomenon Public debates about organised crime often focus on violence or trafficking. Yet in anti-corruption and asset recovery circles, we all know that criminal organisations survive only because they are able to generate, move, conceal and reinvest enormous sums of money. The financial dimension of organised crime has become increasingly important as criminal groups expand across borders, diversify their activities and develop closer relationships with professional facilitators and corrupt actors. Illegal mining, environmental crime, drug trafficking, corruption and money laundering are frequently connected through the same financial networks. This is one reason why asset recovery has attracted growing attention from governments and international organisations alike. Less-known benefits of focusing on asset recovery Recovering illicit assets is valuable in itself, not least in times of squeezed public budgets and reduced flows of development aid. Confiscated assets can be reinvested in enhancing the capabilities of law enforcement and prosecution authorities. They can also be used to compensate victims and communities affected by corruption and crime. More importantly, the process of conducting financial investigations and pursuing illicit assets helps authorities understand how criminal networks operate, identify those who profit from them and weaken the structures that allow them to endure. This agenda has particular relevance today because it commands broad support across political and ideological divides. Governments may disagree on many issues. The need to tackle organised crime and illicit finance is rarely one of them. What makes the reforms innovative and impactful Experience has also shown that asset recovery cannot remain a specialised activity reserved for exceptional cases. To keep pace with increasingly sophisticated criminal organisations, countries need to move beyond isolated successes and build institutions that make financial investigation and asset recovery part of everyday prosecutorial practice. In Peru, rather than creating another specialised unit, the Public Prosecutor's Office is building an institutional model that brings together the capabilities needed to tackle the financial dimension of organised crime in a more coordinated, multidisciplinary and sustainable way. The model combines specialised operational support for prosecutors, strategic criminal analysis and stronger institutional coordination. At the same time, it seeks to ensure that the knowledge gained through complex investigations is progressively embedded within the organisation. The objective goes beyond success in individual cases. The aim is to strengthen the Public Prosecutor's Office's long-term capacity to investigate, disrupt and recover the proceeds of organised crime. Importantly, the new arrangements will support both international and domestic asset recovery efforts. - International cases remain essential but often require years of litigation and cooperation across multiple jurisdictions. - Domestically, Peru can also do a lot to target criminal assets located within its own borders and to disrupt illicit economies that continue to fuel insecurity and corruption. As part of this effort, the Public Prosecutor's Office is investing its own resources in the new structure, including resources linked to a tripartite asset return agreement between Peru, Luxembourg and Switzerland that was supported by the Basel Institute through ICAR. From technical assistance to national ownership This institutional model reflects capabilities developed over more than a decade of operational cooperation between our ICAR team and the Public Prosecutor's Office. Through joint work on complex investigations, both our institutions developed practical approaches to financial investigation, international asset recovery and multidisciplinary prosecutorial support. The current reforms seek to embed these proven capabilities within the permanent structures of the Public Prosecutor's Office. This will ensure that the knowledge accumulated through years of operational cooperation becomes part of the institution itself rather than remaining dependent on external technical assistance or individual expertise. For donors and development partners, this matters. The value of technical assistance cannot be measured only by assets recovered or training sessions delivered. Its deeper contribution lies in helping institutions develop the confidence, capabilities and structures needed to perform these functions independently and continuously improve them over time. Why this matters beyond Peru Every country must develop solutions that fit its own legal system, institutions and priorities. Yet some lessons travel well. One is that asset recovery works best when it is integrated into broader efforts to combat organised crime rather than treated as a specialised activity operating at the margins of criminal investigations. Another is that sustainable progress depends on institutions. Cases come and go. Leadership changes. Criminal networks evolve. Strong institutions provide continuity. Peru's reforms will not solve every challenge posed by organised crime. No single reform can. But they represent a thoughtful and ambitious attempt to strengthen the state's ability to understand, investigate and disrupt the financial foundations of criminal activity. For us, they also represent something else: evidence that long-term partnerships can create capabilities that endure beyond any individual project. There are few better outcomes for a technical assistance programme than seeing the ideas, methods and expertise it has supported become part of the institutions it set out to strengthen.
Is this a turning point for asset recovery success in Europe?
Those of us dedicated to fighting financial crime were excited to see the Council of Europe’s recent adoption of an Additional Protocol to the Warsaw Convention, an international treaty on the prevention and control of money laundering and terrorist financing. The 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. It also requires states to rethink their approach to anti-money laundering and asset recovery in several important respects. Among others, it: - places greater emphasis on financial investigations; - strengthens the institutional architecture supporting asset recovery; - obliges states to significantly improve their ability to cooperate in cross-border cases. To 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. This 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. Why the new Protocol? The 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. It 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. The 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. The 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. Connecting financial intelligence with asset recovery and management The 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. By doing so, it strengthens the role of non-law enforcement actors in tracing, safeguarding and preserving the value of assets. First, 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 to preserve assets, including crypto, in cross-border cases. Second, 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. Third, the Protocol also strengthens the operational role of Financial Intelligence Units 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. In 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. They 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. Streamlining access to asset and ownership data The 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. This creates a dedicated infrastructure for locating assets within a jurisdiction. It also allows the exchange of such information between authorities in cross-border cases. While 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. In 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. Maximising the value of financial investigations The Protocol establishes a comprehensive framework to prioritise and enhance asset tracing and financial investigations. The 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. Such 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. This 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. Asset management gets the attention it deserves The 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 framework, that includes: - 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 - measures facilitating the reuse of seized and confiscated assets. Experience 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. The 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. Lessons 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. Practical ways to enhance international cooperation The 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: First, mandatory standard forms for the transmission and execution of freezing and confiscation requests. Although 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. Second, Joint Investigation Teams established for the purpose of tracing and recovering assets liable to confiscation. Joint 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. Joint Investigation Teams dedicated to financial investigations already operate in practice, 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. A powerful Protocol that can inspire all States – and is hopefully not a paper tiger The 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. Its 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. Depending on existing capacity, this may require legal reform, technical assistance and targeted training. Without this, the Protocol’s significance risks remaining largely theoretical. In 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. View key points PDF .
Six new certified trainers will scale financial investigation and asset recovery capacity in Romania
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 in Bucharest. Alongside 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. Building sustainable national capacity The 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. This effort will effectively bring the total number of practitioners trained to around 500, including judges, prosecutors, specialists, ANABI inspectors and other relevant practitioners. This 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. Two critical legal tools in focus This 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. 1. The standalone money laundering offence A persistent challenge in money laundering investigations is the assumption that prosecutors must first prove or secure a conviction before pursuing money laundering charges. Under the Council of Europe's Warsaw Convention CETS No. 198, Art. 9 and EU Directive EU 2018/1673 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. As one of the newly certified trainers reflected: 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. 2. Systematic use of parallel financial investigations Another important approach is the systematic use of parallel financial investigations to identify and trace criminal assets from the outset of a case. This approach is now required under Directive EU 2024/1260 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. This shift is already visible in practice. One trainer wrote: 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. From training to real cases The effect of our training has also reached institutional level. One trainer reported: 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. This 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. With 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. About the programme This 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 . This 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.
Publications
Case Study 14: Madagascar: a landmark conviction for money laundering linked to environmental crime
This Case Study demonstrates how international cooperation and the follow-the-money approach revealed a transnational criminal network trafficking endangered species and led to Madagascar’s first money laundering conviction related to wildlife trafficking.
About this Case Study
This publication is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Case Study series, ISSN 2813-3900. It is licensed for sharing under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Photo: Studio Sifaka / khaosodenglish (used with permission).
The Case Study series offers practitioners insights into interesting and precedent-setting cases involving corruption and asset recovery. This case relates to the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption programme.
The development of this publication was funded through the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Challenge Fund.
The contents are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Basel Institute on Governance, its donors and partners, or the University of Basel.
Case Study 12: Indonesia: a landmark money laundering conviction in a forestry crime case
This Case Study highlights how investigators of Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry achieved their first conviction for money laundering linked to forestry offences, leveraging institutional and legal changes in financial investigation procedures.
About this Case Study
This publication is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Case Study series, ISSN 2813-3900. It is licensed for sharing under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
The development of this publication was funded through the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Challenge Fund.
The contents are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Basel Institute on Governance, its donors and partners, or the University of Basel.
Quick Guide 40: Financial investigations in a cash economy
Despite the increasing use of digital payment methods, cash is still king in many economies – including criminal economies. It remains the most-used payment option across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, and accounted for over USD 7.6 trillion in consumer expenditures throughout 2022.
That’s a challenge when investigating financial crimes. How can you “follow the money” without records of bank transfers, debit or credit card payments, or digital wallet transactions?
This Quick Guide explains the specific challenges involved in conducting financial investigations in a cash economy. It outlines how law enforcement can use traditional investigative methods to successfully uncover the financial affairs of a suspect.
About this Quick Guide
You are free to share and republish this work under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence. It is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Quick Guide series, ISSN 2673-5229.
Quick Guide 34: Public-private partnerships for financial intelligence sharing
Financial intelligence is the staple food of investigations into corruption, money laundering and other financial crimes.
Much financial intelligence is held by private-sector institutions such as banks and other financial service providers. How does that get into the hands of law enforcement, where it can trigger or inform investigations? And how can we improve the system?
This Quick Guide gives a brief introduction to public-private partnerships or platforms for financial intelligence sharing. It sets out how they work in practice, and how they can improve the sharing of targeted, useful information between law enforcement and financial institutions.
About this Quick Guide
You are free to share and republish this work under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence. It is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Quick Guide series, ISSN 2673-5229.
Case Study 9: The Kiamba case: achieving a civil asset forfeiture order and criminal prosecution
This case study describes how authorities in Kenya achieved both a civil asset forfeiture order and a criminal conviction against a former public official involved in corrupt procurement deals.
The case involves Jimmy Kiamba, the former Chief Finance Officer of Nairobi County in Kenya, who conspired with three others to defraud the county government by authorising payments for phantom office equipment. Following a financial investigation and civil proceedings under Kenya’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (2003), Kiamba was ordered to forfeit around USD 3 million in assets to the state. A subsequent criminal case based on the same underlying facts and investigation ultimately led to his conviction in 2022.
The case demonstrates how a “belt and braces” approach – applying both civil and criminal proceedings – can help anti-corruption agencies to confiscate the proceeds of corruption relatively quickly, even if the criminal case drags on or fails to reach the stricter standard of proof. It also highlights the impact of providing hands-on mentoring to investigators during real ongoing cases and over an extended period of time.
Open-access licence and acknowledgements
This publication is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Case Study series, ISSN 2813-3900. It is licensed for sharing under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.
The Case Study series offers practitioners insights into interesting and precedent-setting cases involving corruption and asset recovery. Many such cases are drawn from partner countries of the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery.
Suggested citation: Marsh, Simon. 2022. “The Kiamba case: achieving a civil asset forfeiture order and criminal prosecution." Case Study 9, Basel Institute on Governance. Available at: baselgovernance.org/case-studies.