AML/CFT experts of the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) are providing technical assistance and guidance to the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) of the Republic of Uganda with a view to establishing and operationalising an effective financial intelligence unit.
Specialists in international mutual legal assistance, financial investigation, intelligence gathering and asset recovery from some 30 countries and international organisations met in Lausanne from 21 to 23 February 2016 for the ‘Lausanne IX’ seminar on the efficient recovery of stolen PEP assets.
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.
Analysing suspicious financial activities is a key function of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). To enhance the capacity of FIUs worldwide, ICAR in cooperation with the Egmont Group of FIUs has developed a unique e-learning course on “Operational Analysis”.
ICAR’s training team chose Peru to present for the first time its new specialised training course on “Advanced On-Site Training Operational Analysis”. For the delivery of this training in Peru in early June, additional country-specific elements were added. The goal of this specialized training was to strengthen the FIU's analytical and operational capacities in financial investigation.
A fundamental priority for law enforcement authorities dealing with financial crime is to recover illegally obtained assets and deny criminals access to the proceeds of their crime. The recovery of illegally obtained assets, however, requires first to successfully trace them.
Throughout 2016, ICAR experts have played a significant role in enhancing Uganda’s capacity to fight money laundering and terrorism financing. Part of this support, provided in the context of the Basel Institute’s involvement in the “Strengthening Uganda’s Anti-Corruption and Accountability Regime” (SUGAR) programme managed by Adam Smith International (ASI), involved assisting the country during the process of identifying and assessing its risk exposure to money laundering and terrorism financing.
To strengthen the capacity of East African anti-corruption agencies to investigate and prosecute international corruption and money laundering, and to enhance regional cooperation in this regard, ICAR led a regional training workshop on Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery.
The beginning of this year marked a growing interest in ICAR’s Train-the-Trainer programme in financial investigation and asset recovery with launches in Romania and Tanzania. The TTT programme comprises 4 to 5 successive training workshops, which are delivered over a period of several months. Potential local trainers are selected and trained to deliver similar workshops to their peers in the future, thus ensuring the sustainability of the project.
On 22 March 2017, the Basel Institute on Governance and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) have entered into an agreement whereby ICAR will assist NABU in strengthening their capacities to conduct complex investigations into cases of grand corruption, money laundering and related financial crimes. The support involves both assistance in on-going investigations as well as providing ICAR’s signature training.