Misozi Samuti Chimbe, Programme Manager for Southern and East Africa at the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR), reflects on how her passion for public service has led her to pursue the bigger mission of protecting public resources, and how her work has become a deeply personal endeavour. This article is part of a series on careers in fighting financial crime and opportunities to learn and study with the Basel Institute.

Congratulations to our partners at the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Malawi for achieving the final forfeiture of a house linked to the infamous Cashgate corruption scandal.

A decision by the Supreme Court to reject an appeal against the forfeiture order sends an important message about ending impunity for high-profile corruption.

A high-level meeting of heads of anti-corruption agencies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last month was a chance to take stock of member countries’ efforts to tackle corruption.

The meeting allowed for a reflection on many ongoing activities and discussions around Collective Action in the region this year. It was the perfect opportunity to reflect on how to galvanise joint efforts against the region’s biggest scourge.

Malawi has taken another positive step towards protecting the country’s wildlife, forests and other natural resources from illegal exploitation facilitated by corrupt practices.  

Senior officers from Malawi’s main environmental and law enforcement agencies came together on 15-17 February 2023 for a three-day workshop led by the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption team. Together, the officers explored how to conduct systematic corruption risk assessments and develop targeted corruption risk mitigation plans for their agencies.

Investigators and prosecutors from the Malawi Police Service (MPS) have gained vital skills in financial investigations and asset recovery during a five-day intensive Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery training programme.

This is the first time our ICAR Training Team has been able to deliver in-person training since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ability to forge personal relationships and network with counterparts from other professions and agencies was somewhat lost during the pandemic restrictions. But the latest International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) training programme delivered in Malawi was a strong reminder of just how important this personal networking is in the fight against corruption.

A new short report on gendered corruption highlights the urgent need for more research and policy action on non-monetary corruption affecting women, such as sextortion and so-called double bribery.