As the use of cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets expands and evolves, so does their misuse to commit crimes and launder money. How can law enforcement best respond?

This short interview with Stefan Jerga of the Australian Federal Police gives some practical insights to other law enforcement agencies seeking to build and streamline their crypto capabilities.

A delegation from the Basel Institute will attend the International Anti-Corruption Conference (#IACC2022) in Washington DC on 6–10 December 2022. 

We will be distributing some of our recent publications and are looking forward to meeting our friends, partners and hopefully future partners in anti-corruption. 

Please see this summary of plenary sessions and panels we are leading or involved in, plus details of how to meet us there.

A joint blog by Kateryna Boguslavska, Basel Institute on Governance and Maria Nizzero, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Effectively tackling illicit finance and money laundering is crucial to the integrity not only of financial systems, but of democratic societies. And alongside fresh ideas and commitments on fighting financial crimes, we need faster progress on existing ones.

O objetivo deste diagnóstico é contribuir para a melhoria contínua das capacidades dos Estados beneficiários de recuperar ativos ilícitos provenientes da perpetração de crimes graves, tais como corrupção, lavagem de dinheiro, tráfico de drogas, entre outros.

Este diagnóstico tiene el propósito de contribuir a la mejora continua de las capacidades de los Estados beneficiarios en la recuperación de activos ilícitos originados en la perpetración de crímenes graves como la corrupción, el lavado de activos, el tráfico ilícito de drogas, entre otros.

The final recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia (‘the Commission’) urged the government to legislate an unexplained wealth order (‘UWO’) as part of a wider approach to counter the prevalence of money laundering and proceeds of crime in the province.

This document analyses the feasibility of this recommendation. It:

Progress in addressing money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks remains paralysed in many countries, according to the latest release of the Basel AML Index.

The Basel AML Index is an independent ranking that assesses countries’ ML/TF risks and capacity to counter them. It draws on 18 indicators in five domains measuring different factors that contribute to high ML/TF risks.

This case study describes how authorities in Kenya and Jersey worked together to unlock progress in a long-running case involving around USD 3.7 million in corruptly acquired funds.

The money was held in the bank account of the shelf company Windward Trading, which was used to channel corrupt payments relating to power generation in Kenya.