Amid the current buzz around virtual training, it's good to be reminded that effective capacity building is about a lot more than just learning new skills. Some of the most important aspects of our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) workshops can't easily be transferred to cyberspace.

Media reports of corruption arising from coronavirus-related aid and emergency procurement are starting to circulate. Crises such as the current one, in common with natural disaster situations, inevitably increase the risks of corruption. And that increases the importance of strong corruption prevention.

Journalist Bertram Hill of the BBC Africa Eye Investigative Team joined media consultant Ladan Cher in March 2020 to lead an intensive open-source intelligence workshop for 13 of Malawi’s leading investigative journalists.

During the four-day workshop, the participants explored the many possibilities of open-source intelligence gathering, including:

Congratulations to our partners in Malawi on the launch of the new Malawi National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS II).

We are delighted to have been able to contribute our multi-disciplinary expertise to what we believe is a state-of-the-art anti-corruption strategy that will have real impact on corruption in Malawi over the next five years.

Financial investigators in Malawi have gained – and practised in mock interviews as part of a simulated investigation – vital skills in obtaining financial information from individuals involved in corruption cases.

At the opening of a five-day workshop in Malawi on Mutual Legal Assistance and the Misuse of Offshore Structures to Conceal Beneficial Ownership, the Honourable Justice Dr. Chifundo Kachale hit the nail on the head. Imprisonment alone is not enough, he said. Recovering the stolen assets sends a strong message that crime does not, and should not, pay.

There's no time like the present for anti-corruption Collective Action in Malawi, as the country gears up to review and update its National Anti-Corruption Strategy.

Malawi, also known as the warm heart of Africa, is famous for its open and welcoming people and of course for one of the most spectacular lakes in the world, but it is also a county that has been shaken-up by massive corruption scandals in the past decade that have left their mark.

The Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) continues to support DFID’s Tackling Serious Organised Corruption (TSOC) programme in Malawi by enhancing local capacity to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate complex financial cases, including money laundering.

In September 2016, ICAR kicked off a new 3.5 year program of work in support of Malawi's key law enforcement agencies and their efforts to tackle serious corruption and related financial crimes. Financed with a grant from the UK Department for International Development, the program is a continuation and expansion of the already on-going work of ICAR - also funded by DFID - in Malawi, in the course of which two embedded experts were supporting Malawi authorities in the investigation and prosecution of the so-called Cashgate scandals. The latter continues to be a priority.

Our programme of work in Malawi, led by the International Centre for Asset Recovery with funding support from the UK Department for International Development, has been expanded to complement its original focus on corruption investigations and the recovery of stolen assets with prevention components.

These include assistance with a review of the national anti-corruption strategy, fresh engagements with the private sector and training on research methods and corruption risk assessment strategies.