The training team of the International Centre for Asset Recovery last week delivered an intensive Advanced Operational Analysis training programme to 20 anti-corruption practitioners in Ukraine. This was the first time our ICAR training team has delivered a virtual workshop that involved both complex group work and simultaneous interpreting, and we are pleased to say that it went flawlessly.

Congratulations to Malawi on achieving the first ever non-conviction based forfeiture order under the new Financial Crimes Act of 2017. We are delighted to have been able to support our partners in Malawi's Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Financial Intelligence Authority and Malawi Police Service in this precedent-setting case.

The Basel Institute on Governance is delighted to have signed today a cooperation agreement with the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Kosovo. This agreement lays the foundation for supporting Kosovo in the investigation and prosecution of corruption offences and recovering stolen assets. 

The first Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) of the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office (SFO), secured on 30 November 2015 at the Royal Courts of Justice, London, has on 26 August 2020 given rise to a plea bargain settlement in Tanzania. As announced by Tanzania’s National Prosecutions Service (NPS), this nets the Tanzanian authorities TZS 1.5 billion (approx. USD 650,000 or GBP 500,000).

Thirty-three prosecutors, 22 judges and 22 investigators from across Mozambique’s 11 provinces have completed a series of intensive training courses on anti-corruption and asset recovery.

Delivered by the Mozambique team of our International Centre for Asset Recovery, the training sessions took place over three weeks from 17 August to 4 September. Investigators from SERNIC, Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service, joined prosecutors from the Prosecutor General’s Office and judges from across the country.

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.

Virtual training is helping to build networks and bridges between anti-corruption officials located in different countries – bridges that will help to improve regional coordination and cooperation in cases of financial crime.

How can civil society organisations (CSOs) support efforts to recover stolen assets for their country? What are the different stages of the asset recovery process and what are potential actions in each one? What is the legal basis for the involvement of civil society in asset recovery? Where are the main risks and challenges, and how can CSOs overcome these?

Our International Centre for Asset Recovery originally developed a guide to the role of CSOs in asset recovery in 2014, together with partners in the context of the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery (AFAR). 

Eighteen participants from anti-corruption authorities across East Africa took part in the first ever online delivery of our Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery training programme last week.