Why do many countries still struggle with high levels of corruption, in spite of years of investment in anti-corruption programmes and even where the right laws, rules and institutions are in place?

We believe one reason is that anti-corruption laws and policies are too often focused narrowly on individuals, rather than networks of individuals.

This quick guide explains how investigators and prosecutors can use Source and Application of Funds analysis to inform corruption and money laundering investigations and prosecutions and to generate evidence for use in court.

The method enables anti-corruption officers to build financial profiles of suspects by systematically calculating the amount of money that the suspect has accumulated and spent during a particular period, compared to their legal and known income. 

In their efforts to promote sustainable development around the world, development agencies and their country offices face a variety of corruption risks. 

Why is it important for development agencies to understand and take a strategic approach to addressing corruption issues? What is the role of strategic guidelines in doing this, and how are they best developed and implemented?

The amount of money flowing through mobile payment systems such as M-Pesa, MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money has exploded, in part due to covid-19 lockdowns. Should we be worried about the use of mobile money for financial crimes? 

In this quick guide, Andrew Dornbierer explains how mobile money could be abused for corruption and money laundering. Drawing on on-the-ground experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, he also outlines how law enforcement officers can take advantage of this widespread payment method to catch corruption and money laundering schemes and prove them in court. 

Anti-corruption, transparency and freedom of information initiatives over the last decades have significantly boosted the value of open-source intelligence for both the private and public sectors.

In this quick guide, Intelligence Analyst Manuel Medina explains what open-source intelligence is and explores some of the tricky questions it raises. 

Mark Pieth, Founder of the Basel Institute on Governance and author of the book Gold Laundering, offers an insight into the risks of human rights and environmental harms in gold supply chains. Where are the risks and responsibilities?

Collective Action with gold refiners, suppliers and other stakeholders, he concludes, can help to clean up the industry.

Financial investigations are critical to proving crimes such as corruption, fraud and trafficking in humans or illicit goods. They are also central to confiscating illegally obtained assets from criminals – so that crime doesn’t pay. 

Yet there is often confusion about who performs financial investigations, how, when and why, as well as their relationship to criminal investigations. All of these questions are further complicated by the fact that different countries have different legal systems, different laws and different terminology. 

This quick guide by Phyllis Atkinson looks at how criminals manipulate and misuse corporate vehicles in offshore jurisdictions to launder money. It focuses on the meaning of "corporate vehicle" and "offshore" and other related concepts such as beneficial ownership. It also gives an example of how a trust, which is one common type of corporate vehicle in the vast "offshore ecosystem", can be used for illicit purposes. 

“Follow the money!” Everyone’s talking about it, especially in relation to corruption, fraud and organised crime.

What does “following money” actually mean in this context? How do we do it in practice? And what are some of the wider possibilities?

Read this quick guide by Stephen Ratcliffe, Senior Investigation Specialist, to find out.

Recovering criminals’ ill-gotten assets, i.e. confiscating property, cars, yachts, cash and other funds gained through corruption or other acquisitive crimes, is a big topic in law enforcement. Among other benefits, asset recovery acts as a deterrent against crime and makes a clear public statement that illicit wealth will be targeted and returned to the public treasury.

In this quick guide, Phill Jones, former Senior Investigation / Asset Recovery Specialist, sets out some fundamental investigative skills that will help investigators trace even the most cleverly hidden assets.