Representatives from nine leading Collective Action initiatives that offer local anti-corruption compliance certification gathered yesterday at a virtual roundtable. The event was part of a wider Basel Institute's project on certification initiatives funded by the KBA-NotaSys Integrity Fund.

The idea is to support local certification of anti-corruption compliance programmes in particular in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that supply larger customers.

At a high-level B20 panel on “Enhancing Integrity for Responsible and Inclusive Growth” on 24 August, Gemma Aiolfi, the Basel Institute’s Head of Compliance, Corporate Governance and Collective Action, discussed how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been forced to focus on survival in recent months.

Oscar Solórzano participated in a virtual discussion with Ecuadorian legislators and other leading asset recovery experts from across Latin America on 2 September. The topic: Non-conviction-based confiscation legislation as a tool to recover assets arising from corruption.

Basel Institute on Governance Managing Director Gretta Fenner moderated a discussion on Finding stolen assets – the role of transparency and proactive measures in developed countries at the new Global Forum on Illicit Financial Flows and Sustainable Development series. Hosted by Germany and Norway, the event takes place over two days starting 2 September 2020.

We are delighted to have signed a new framework agreement with Peru’s Special Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The Special Public Prosecutor’s Office (Procuraduría General del Estado del Perú) was established in 2019 as an independent authority within the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. In collaboration with the Attorney General’s Office, it is responsible for advancing prosecutions of offences where the Peruvian State is the victim, including corruption, money laundering and environmental crimes.

Our current struggles have highlighted in drastic fashion that unilateral solutions are no longer sufficient to challenges that are increasingly global and multi-disciplinary.

Gemma Aiolfi, Head of Compliance and Collective Action, will explore some thorny areas of anti-corruption and human rights risk assessment and compliance during a forthcoming virtual “pre-evening dialogue” of the UN Global Compact Network in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The focus is on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited resources to address due diligence, and more broadly compliance risks. The topic, though, is relevant to all companies who need to address both corruption and human rights risks in their international business operations.

Integrity risks for businesses trading overseas have shot up due to the pandemic. Anti-corruption and human rights compliance approaches designed to protect companies during “business as usual” can come under strain in these unusual circumstances.

How can companies – especially smaller companies with limited resources – protect themselves from integrity risks in these times of crisis? There are no easy answers, but it’s important to talk about the questions.

Two of the Basel Institute's experts on intelligence and illegal wildlife trade (IWT) will present on how to put an end to wildlife crime as part of the University of Oklahoma's Global Risks & Threats Series.

Among other insights, Dr Timothy Wittig and Dr Patricia Raxter will explain how companies and financial institutions can work together to cut off access to the financial and logistical channels that the traffickers use. 

**UPDATE** The conference has been postponed until 18-19 November due to travel restrictions relating to the coronavirus emergency. 

The 4th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptocurrencies will take place this year on 18-19 November 2020 at the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore.