Anti-corruption
News and blog
Building Ukraine's next generation of anti-corruption champions
Ukraine’s reconstruction and EU accession will depend on people who can put anti-corruption reforms into practice. A paid internship programme developed and led by Transparency International Ukraine TI Ukraine in partnership with the Basel Institute on Governance is building exactly that pool of talent. The initiative is currently in its third year, with support from the Principality of Liechtenstein and prior institutional support for TI Ukraine from the Swedish International Development Agency SIDA . In just three years, 42 interns have completed the programme – and alumni are already working at TI Ukraine, the High Anti-Corruption Court, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention and other key institutions. The 2026 cohort ended its placements with a study visit to Liechtenstein and Switzerland. One of the 2026 interns, Yelyzaveta Liza , summed up the experience: This internship was a crucial step in my professional growth – I gained hands-on experience in analysing legal frameworks, identifying corruption risks and designing training sessions, while feeling that I am contributing to Ukraine's development. Meeting leading practitioners left me reassured that one should never hesitate to speak up and share ideas, as true growth happens through open dialogue. Taking first career steps in anti-corruption The programme gives university students and young professionals a structured, hands-on entry point into anti-corruption work, placing them for four to six months with either TI Ukraine or the Basel Institute’s Kyiv-based team under close mentorship. The design was a deliberate break with the past and a breath of fresh air for those who associate internships with making coffee and filing documents. Volunteers had been part of TI Ukraine for a long time – around 10 to 12 a year, usually working remotely on routine tasks. After the full-scale invasion in 2022, the organisation rebuilt the internship experience from scratch. The new paid internship programme has a single annual intake that forms a cohort, an office-first hybrid format, dedicated time for training and onboarding, and placements across several departments. Demand has climbed steadily. The 2024 pilot drew 57 applications, the 2025 edition 156 and the 2026 edition more than 250 – for just 16 places. For a generation whose education and early working life were shaped by COVID lockdowns, the war and near-permanent remote study and work, these internships offer a crucial route to practical and meaningful experience in the anti-corruption field. Sofia, an intern in TI Ukraine’s grant department, said: What I valued most is that you really get to meet other people and dive into a completely different context. It’s something you’ll never get from books or articles. Svitlana Lutsiuk, Senior Specialist, Corruption Prevention in the Basel Institute’s team in Kyiv, explained what she learned from mentoring Liza, whose internship focused on legal analysis: My key takeaway is that clear tasks, real ownership and honest feedback are all it takes. Liza showed just how fast talent unfolds when you trust an intern with work that truly matters. A study visit to Liechtenstein and Basel The 2026 edition closed with a study visit to Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The guiding questions were: what works in these countries to tackle corruption, and how can those lessons be adapted to Ukraine’s context? Six interns took part: students and recent graduates of various Ukrainian universities with backgrounds in law, international relations, public policy, sociology, public history, social work and art history. In Liechtenstein, the interns explored the country’s political system and participatory democracy, how courts, police and government bodies tackle corruption cases, and the tools used against money laundering. They met Deputy Prime Minister Sabine Monauni and spent a day with representatives of the banking sector, discussing compliance, anti-money laundering and fraud prevention. In Switzerland, they met the team at the Basel Institute’s headquarters and learned about its wider work – from business integrity and to tackling green corruption, to research that drives behaviour change and why it is important to “follow the money” and recover illicit assets. They also dove into the practicalities of running an anti-corruption organisation. Maksym, an intern in TI Ukraine’s legal department, put it frankly: “One thought I’m taking back to Ukraine is the realisation that Ukraine isn’t alone in facing corruption. A committed and professional cohort Despite the difficult circumstances – starting a career in anti-corruption while their country is under attack – the interns impressed mentors and study visit partners alike with their commitment and professionalism. The interns were equally positive about their internship experience. They highlighted the meaningful rather than mechanical tasks, concrete professional growth opportunities and gains in confidence and resilience. In a short video shared on social media, the interns summarised what they found most valuable and memorable. Anastasia, an intern in TI Ukraine’s communications department, emphasised the value of gaining: …soft skills and experience creating content at important events. Capacity that outlasts the internship The impact of the internship programme extends far beyond the placement itself. In the first three years, 42 interns have completed the revamped internship programme. Several have received job offers from TI Ukraine or the Basel Institute, while other alumni have found jobs at Ukrainian anti-corruption and law enforcement institutions such as the High Anti-Corruption Court, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, the Economic Security Bureau and the Prosecutor’s Office. This is what sustainable local capacity looks like in practice. Students and recent graduates gain their first real professional experience in the field, Ukrainian institutions recruit people who already know the terrain, and the wider anti-corruption community gains young professionals who have seen integrity applied as a working principle. For the future of anti-corruption work in Ukraine and beyond, that is a real cause for optimism. Learn more - More on the internship programme. - TI Ukraine news about the 2026 study visit to Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
Second cohort from five continents starts Basel STUDY anti-corruption programme
Thirteen professionals from five continents have started the second edition of the Basel Institute's postgraduate programme on anti-corruption, the Certificate of Advanced Studies CAS Mastering Today's Anti-Corruption Challenges. They met for the first time at an opening event in Basel and online on 2 and 3 October 2026. The cohort includes people from Colombia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Morocco, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan and Zambia, as well as from several European countries, such as Germany and Switzerland, and the United States. Their professional backgrounds range from law to economics and politics, with four currently working in the public sector and others joining from private firms, non-profits and academia. Six are women, seven are men. Over the next six months they will study together online, test ideas against each other's experience and apply what they learn to a corruption problem from their own work. Why anti-corruption education matters more than ever The programme, run with the University of Basel, is one of two Basel STUDY micro-degrees we launched in 2025. Its second edition starts at a time when the world needs more people who can make anti-corruption work in practice: people who can adapt it to local conditions and focus on what actually changes behaviour. Dr Peter Maurer, President of the Basel Institute on Governance, described the stakes in his welcome address: People around the world are taking to the streets to demand their rights under the banner of anti-corruption. This course is designed to strengthen your operational tools and foster meaningful engagement with civil society, judicial authorities, financial intelligence units and international organisations. Participants who complete the programme receive a CAS from the University of Basel worth 10 ECTS credits. Each also completes a study project on a real corruption challenge from their own professional context, which they present to the class at the end of the course. Learning what works, and where The course draws on political science, behavioural science, law and economics, and on the Basel Institute’s own projects and cases over more than 23 years. In the opening session, Professor Dr Stefanie Bailer of the University of Basel, who chairs the Study Programme Committee and is Vice-President of our Board, highlighted the value of linking academic research with the Institute’s practical work. A recurring question in the course is why a measure that works in one country fails in another, and what it takes to change behaviour once the rules are on paper. Dr Claudia Baez Camargo, Director of our Prevention, Research and Innovation PRI team and lead instructor for the course, explained the thinking behind it: We do research not for the sake of research, but to generate rigorous, evidence-based knowledge that can be translated directly into practice. Ultimately, our mission is to make a real impact in the world. She teaches alongside Dr Saba Kassa, Deputy Director of the PRI team, who led the cohort's first two live sessions on the Saturday, and Dr Jacopo Costa, Senior Specialist, PRI. Countering corruption in a changing world The opening session gave participants a taste of the perspectives ahead. Dr Ramadhani Marijani of the University of Dodoma in Tanzania presented Afrimeter 2063, a proposed way of measuring corruption's impact on communities that builds on local concepts such as Ujamaa in Tanzania and Harambee in Kenya. Huma Yusuf, Head of Financial Services Responsible Investing and Director of Business Integrity at British International Investment, showed how bribes for fraudulent licences can sit behind disasters such as the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh. A panel with Daniel Demeter of the Alliance for Integrity in Brazil and Irenka Krone-Germann, CEO of cinfo, a network of development organisations, turned to the skills that matter on the job, from institutional diplomacy to empathy. A growing alumni community Two speakers were graduates themselves. Dr Marijani completed the first edition of the CAS in 2025/26 and returned as a keynote speaker. Julio Petrucci, a public prosecutor in the Province of Buenos Aires who completed the sister programme, CAS Combating Financial Crime Through Asset Recovery, in August 2026, told the new cohort what the course had meant for him: When I applied for the CAS, I already had many years of experience in criminal investigations, but crime was changing and I felt that I needed new tools and an international perspective. The CAS really marked a before and an after in my professional career. What I valued most was the practical approach: we worked with real problems, real cases and practical tools that I could connect directly with my daily work as a prosecutor. Alumni of both first-edition programmes were invited to join online, and one, based in Switzerland, attended in Basel. Financial support opens the door Several of the 13 participants are studying with financial support from the Gretta Fenner Scholarship Fund, named after the Institute's late Managing Director. We thank our main donors Kellerhals Carrard, the Chandler Foundation, the International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators and, jointly, ECO Strategic Communications, Bonifassi Avocats and Bennett Jones. Rueben Lifuka, Zambia Country Director of the Chandler Foundation, joined the event online from Lusaka. He spoke about the Foundation’s focus on building cultures of integrity and explained: We see a strong synergy between the work of the Chandler Foundation and that of the Basel Institute on Governance. Both recognise that addressing corruption requires not only effective laws and institutions, but also knowledge, professional capability, leadership, collaboration and the willingness to continually adapt our approaches to a changing environment. The Chandler Foundation is proud to be associated with this initiative. Julio Petrucci, who took part in the asset recovery programme with financial support from the Scholarship Fund, put the value in a nutshell: When you support a prosecutor, an investigator or another professional, the impact of that support does not end with that person. What we learn goes back with us to our institutions, our cases and our countries. We are deeply grateful to all donors to the scholarship fund for their generous support. What’s next and how to get involved We hope to see many of the cohort come to Basel in person for the closing event in April 2027. Dates for the next intake of both Basel STUDY programmes will be announced soon; to hear first, sign up to our newsletter and tick "Events and courses". To support future participants, visit the Scholarship Fund donations page or email study@baselgovernance.org.
Four priorities for an effective EU Anti-Corruption Strategy
With good governance norms under growing pressure, the EU has an opportunity to show decisive leadership in the fight against corruption. The European Commission’s first EU-wide Anti-Corruption Strategy, building on the recently adopted EU Anti-Corruption Directive, is a chance to strengthen coordination across Member States and realise the promise of the Directive for the EU’s 450+ million inhabitants. Done well, it will reinforce the security, economic prosperity and political stability that underpin Europe’s long-term competitiveness. The Basel Institute on Governance has responded to the Commission’s call for evidence with recommendations drawn from more than two decades of research and hands-on work with governments, law enforcement agencies, businesses and civil society. Our submission highlights four areas that we believe should be central to the new Strategy. These are briefly summarised below, and included in full in the submission. Promote a whole-of-society approach Governments cannot tackle complex corruption risks alone. Businesses, civil society, researchers and affected communities all have a role to play. The Strategy should therefore explicitly endorse Anti-Corruption Collective Action. This approach brings stakeholders together to identify shared risks, agree standards and develop practical mechanisms for compliance and accountability. It has been used to address money laundering risks in the financial services sector, bribery and extortion in ports, corruption in public procurement and integrity challenges in the defence sector. It is widely endorsed by organisations including the OECD, UNODC and UN Global Compact, and already included in many national anti-corruption strategies. Harness data and technology responsibly Artificial intelligence, big data analytics, open-source intelligence and automated risk indicators can help identify suspicious procurement patterns, conflicts of interest, illicit financial flows and hidden relationships. Research through the EU-funded FALCON project, of which the Basel Institute is a consortium member, shows that effective anti-corruption systems increasingly depend on the ability to collect, connect and analyse large volumes of information. The Strategy should support responsible testing of new tools, including through regulatory sandboxes, while also investing in the foundations they require: digitisation, interoperable systems, standardised datasets, machine-readable information and secure cross-border data sharing. Focus on priority risks and high-risk activities Beyond these approaches, our submission highlights four high-risk areas requiring particular attention. - Foreign bribery: Enforcement remains uneven and settlements often fail to address the harm suffered by affected countries and communities. The Strategy should promote stronger enforcement and fairer approaches to compensation and the use of recovered proceeds. - Public procurement: Risks are rising as Europe increases investment in defence, infrastructure, energy security and strategic technologies. Priorities should include stronger transparency, better oversight and data-driven risk assessment. - Borders and customs: Corruption at borders can facilitate smuggling, trafficking, sanctions evasion and tax fraud. Greater automation, data integration and consistent procedures can strengthen prevention and detection. - Financial infrastructure: Shell companies, professional intermediaries, offshore structures and virtual assets can help conceal corrupt proceeds. The Strategy should strengthen links between anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and asset recovery, including through the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority. Build in an ongoing research, innovation and learning agenda Corruption constantly evolves as actors adapt to new laws, technologies and enforcement practices. Anti-corruption policy must evolve too. Research also shows that anti-corruption laws alone do not change corrupt behaviour. Social norms, political incentives and institutional cultures can sustain corruption even where formal rules are strong. The Strategy should support sustained applied research and create stronger channels for researchers, policymakers, law enforcement, businesses and civil society to exchange evidence and lessons. It should also use differences between national systems as opportunities to test approaches, evaluate results and improve policy across the Union. Learn more - Download the Basel Institute on Governance’s full submission to the European Commission’s call for evidence on the EU Anti-Corruption Strategy. - See complementary perspectives on the EU Anti-Corruption Directive on how it might affect anti-corruption enforcement from a legal and institutional perspective, and on what the Directive reveals about how corruption is evolving in the EU and beyond.
There’s a gap between what laws say and what people do. How is that useful for anti-corruption work?
In episode 37 of the podcast Sophie au pays des possibles, host and anti-corruption expert Sophie Lemaître conversed with Claudia Baez Camargo, Director of Prevention, Research and Innovation at the Basel Institute on Governance. Claudia leads a specialised team of researchers who leverage behavioural science, political economy analysis and field research to design context-sensitive anti-corruption strategies. Among others, they advance approaches based on understanding and targeting social norms. This Q&A is an edited extract of their discussion on why top-down laws often fail against local realities and how practical, bottom-up solutions can empower citizens to drive real change. Sophie Lemaître: What are social norms, and why is it essential to consider them when addressing corruption? Claudia Baez Camargo: Essentially, social norms are what we perceive as typical, expected or socially accepted behaviour in a given context. For example, if a traffic officer stops you in Mexico – where I was born and grew up – most would offer a bribe to get out of the predicament. Or when accessing healthcare services, people might give a “gift” or bribe before receiving care. If they don't, they fear they won't receive the service or the correct medicine. Even if they are personally against corruption and know the law forbids it, the social expectation can push them to do it anyway. Understanding these expectations is key to designing effective anti-corruption interventions. Sophie: I've heard statements like "Corruption is part of the culture of this country." Can we say some cultures or countries are more corrupt than others? Claudia: I've often been told, across Africa, Latin America, the Balkans or Asia, "Oh, Claudia, it's in our culture. What are we going to do?" But these regions have such vastly different cultures that I doubt culture is the defining factor. In my view, the real drivers are structural. - First, there are resource constraints: living in poverty and unmet need drives corruption. - Second, there are weak state institutions. When the state fails to deliver, it generates incentives to bypass the law just to solve problems, make money or access services. Culture simply adapts around these realities, absorbing corrupt practices through local names and jokes. Social norms apply to concrete, narrow situations – they dictate what we're expected to do. Culture is something we all have an emotional stake in, so calling a culture corrupt is self-degrading and ignores how rich cultures are. I prefer to focus on social norms because they provide a concrete entry point where we can actually act and change things. Sophie: Have you noticed people saying that addressing corruption is a Western thing? Claudia: Government and anti-corruption officials across the board have assimilated the language of good governance, largely because their laws follow UN Conventions. At that level, a Westernised view definitely prevails. At the grassroots, it's completely different. In research in Uganda and Tanzania, we used fictional "vignettes" to ask citizens about their perceptions of public officials, presenting two characters: - One who strictly abides by the law and refuses bribes. - Another who uses their authority to extract resources, but distributes them to their family and community. Stealing in order to share, like Robin Hood. Almost without exception, people said the one stealing and sharing was great, loved and respected, while the law-abiding official was called a traitor who ignored his community responsibilities. From this view, the "corrupt" ones are those who fail to use power to look after their network. Ultimately, there is vast room for interpretation regarding what corruption is, depending entirely on social norms, cultural environments and practical needs. Sophie: How can we induce behaviour change to create a culture of integrity when the situation involves so many social norms, informal practices and other drivers? Claudia: A lot of anti-corruption projects and investments are still very prescriptive. Focusing purely on top-down "best practices" and laws creates an "implementation gap": countries with excellent laws on paper but terrible results in practice. To achieve sustainable change, we must go bottom-up. Working at the subnational or municipal level shows a lot of promise, because it allows local governments to engage directly with constituents, jointly identify priorities and co-design solutions. As scholar Yuen Yuen Ang argues in her work on adaptive political economy, you cannot expect context-defying behaviours to emerge just because you pass a law. We need to use what is already there – local practices, social networks and community groups – to solve problems sustainably without corruption. It does not have to be a textbook Western "best practice", as long as it works. Sophie: Do you have a success story or promising initiative you could share? Claudia: On success stories, once I worked on a project on a remote island in the Philippines where the mayor was a true champion for his community. He even gave his personal mobile number to every citizen. It was a very poor community, but because things were decided collectively, their few resources were visibly used in the best interest of everyone. On promising initiatives, I'm currently supporting a Swiss-funded project in Moldova that takes this bottom-up approach seriously: its first year is dedicated purely to building trust among local stakeholders. Without trust, people can't collaborate or identify joint priorities. Investing in trust, then letting the community take the driver's seat, is essential for sustainability. Otherwise, once funding dries up, everything regresses. Sophie: Anti-corruption progress is slow, and we’re experiencing a global backlash. What keeps you motivated? Claudia: What I love about my job is going to different countries and speaking with mayors, citizen groups, civil society organisations and the private sector – the real people on the ground whose lives would be transformed if there were less corruption. That's what motivates me. Corruption remains a devastating barrier to development and poverty reduction. We often hear we need to "raise awareness", but that isn't true; in almost every context, people already know what's corrupt, suffer from it and dislike it. We simply cannot give up. The climate can be demotivating, but if we're passive spectators, we can say goodbye to the institutions we've fought for. With our actions, we can intervene and change the course of events. Sophie: One final question: how can we as individual citizens play a role in fighting corruption? Claudia: First, by understanding our duties. Good governance is fundamentally linked to democracy, and whether you live in an established or fragile democracy, the legal framework almost always gives citizens instruments to engage with their representatives. If we normalise using these tools to question authority and demand accountability, we strengthen the rule of law and put corrupt actors under scrutiny. If enough people do this, a lot can change. Learn more ::: links - Quick Guide: Social norms and corruption - Research Case Study: Harnessing behavioural approaches against corruption - Blog – Bridging the gap: How behavioural science can strengthen anti-corruption and crime prevention - Article – Corruption and Social Norms: A New Arrow in the Quiver - Episode 37 of Sophie au pays des possibles :::
What can corruption sanctions really achieve?
For victims of corruption and related human rights abuses, justice is often out of reach. Courts may be compromised, prosecutors unwilling to act and political leaders implicated in the wrongdoing. In such cases, corruption sanctions cannot deliver justice on their own. They may, however, provide something else: accountability, recognition and consequences. These questions were at the heart of a Basel Institute on Governance webinar marking the launch of the working paper Corruption sanctions: What governments need to know. Commissioned by the Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery ICAR and written by Dr Anton Moiseienko, the paper examines how governments can use corruption sanctions more strategically as part of wider anti-corruption efforts. Andrew Dornbierer, Head of Policy and Research at ICAR moderated the online launch event bringing together experts with experience across sanctions policy, litigation, advocacy and victims' rights. Dr Anton Moiseienko was joined by Sir William Browder KCMG, CEO of Hermitage Capital and Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, Michael O'Kane , Senior Partner at Peters & Peters, and Lyra Nightingale , Senior Legal Advisor at REDRESS. Recognition matters Sanctions are often judged by whether they change behaviour, recover assets or deter future wrongdoing. Lyra Nightingale argued that this overlooks another form of impact. If a targeted sanction, such as a corruption sanction, can convey recognition, acknowledgement and some sense of justice for victims, it has already had an impact. Drawing on REDRESS's work with survivors of torture and other serious abuses linked to corruption, Nightingale described how sanctions can validate victims' experiences and demonstrate international solidarity when other routes to justice have failed. Examples from Iran and Angola illustrated the point. Victims and civil society groups viewed sanctions not simply as restrictions imposed on perpetrators, but as public acknowledgement that wrongdoing had occurred and that it mattered. Sanctions cannot provide a complete remedy, but they help signal that impunity is not absolute. Success means different things A recurring theme throughout the webinar was that sanctions are expected to achieve many things at once. Moiseienko argued that governments use corruption sanctions for a range of purposes: disrupting access to international financial systems, deterring future misconduct, condemning wrongdoing and supporting accountability efforts. Given this broad scope: It would be perverse to conclude that if corruption does not stop, sanctions have failed. That observation goes to the heart of the debate. Corruption sanctions are often directed at the most powerful and entrenched offenders. Eliminating corruption entirely is rarely a realistic objective. The more relevant question is whether sanctions increase pressure, restrict opportunities and support broader accountability efforts. The answer depends on what governments are trying to achieve. Do sanctions work? Here the panellists diverged. Drawing on years of experience representing sanctioned individuals, Michael O'Kane cautioned against assuming that sanctions automatically produce meaningful results. For some people, sanctions are profoundly impactful. For others, they are not particularly impactful at all. He argued that sanctions are most effective when they form part of a broader strategy that includes enforcement, asset recovery and clear incentives for behavioural change. Sir William Browder took a more forceful view. Reflecting on Russia's response to Magnitsky sanctions, he pointed to the extraordinary lengths taken to challenge and discredit the measures. So we know that we hit the Achilles' heel. For Browder, the reaction itself is evidence of effectiveness. Sanctions restrict access to assets, travel and international financial networks. They also create uncertainty among others who may fear becoming targets themselves. The disagreement was less about whether sanctions matter than about how much they can achieve on their own. Legitimacy is part of effectiveness The discussion repeatedly returned to legitimacy. Several speakers warned that sanctions derive much of their power from public confidence in their fairness and credibility. If they are perceived as arbitrary or politically motivated, their effectiveness may weaken over time. Moiseienko argued that governments should resist the temptation to use sanctions indiscriminately. The moment governments begin to look trigger-happy, indiscriminate or undisciplined in their use of sanctions, confidence in the entire system risks collapsing. Questions of transparency, evidence and due process therefore matter not only for legal reasons but also for practical ones. The legitimacy of sanctions is one of their greatest strengths. It can also be one of their greatest vulnerabilities. An evolving tool Corruption sanctions are now firmly established in the international anti-corruption landscape. Yet many of the questions surrounding them remain unresolved. - How should success be measured? - What role should sanctions play alongside criminal investigations and asset recovery efforts? - How can governments maintain public confidence while responding to evolving geopolitical pressures? As Andrew Dornbierer noted: Corruption sanctions are still a relatively new area of law and policy, and there will undoubtedly be significant developments in the years ahead. The webinar offered no single answer to these questions, but gave a sense of both the promise and the limitations of corruption sanctions. They are neither a cure-all nor a symbolic gesture. Used strategically, they can support accountability, recognise victims and increase pressure on those who have long operated with impunity. Learn more ::: links - Working Paper "Corruption sanctions: What governments need to know" - For policymakers grappling with these challenges, this Basel Institute’s Working Paper provides a valuable starting point. - Quick Guide to corruption sanctions - For an easy introduction to the concept. - Webinar recording - Watch the full webinar on YouTube. :::