The Basel Institute on Governance welcomes the successful conclusion of a case of asset recovery involving the UK and Kenya. The assets in the amount of £2,222,957 were confiscated by Mr Recorder Andrew Mitchel QC in the case of R v Smith and Ouzman. The UK authorities decided that an amount of £349,057.39 should be used to purchase specialised ambulances that were formally handed over to the Kenyan Government on 17 March. The purchase of ambulances with the returned assets meets urgent needs in the Kenyan health care delivery system.
Windward Trading, a company registered in Jersey, pleaded guilty yesterday, on 24 February 2016, to four counts of money laundering at Jersey's Royal Court. A confiscation order was granted amounting to GBP 3.6 million and discussions are underway between the Government of Kenya, Jersey authorities and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom as to the repatriation of these assets.
The Basel Institute on Governance has just released its sixth edition of the Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index, an annual ranking assessing 146 countries regarding money laundering/terrorism financing risks. To date it remains the only research-based risk rating of countries in this field issued by an independent non-profit institution. It is used by the private sector as an established AML country risk-rating tool for compliance purposes, and in the public sector for research and policy measurement.
In 2015 the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) contacted the International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) at the Basel Institute on Governance because MACN needed assistance with finding a local civil society partner in Argentina.
The Metals Technology Industry (MTI) Anti-Corruption Collective Action Initiative has recently expanded its membership. Tenova S.p.A. has joined the three founding members of the Initiative: Danieli & C Meccaniche S.p.A., Primetals Technologies Limited and SMS GmbH - in their anti-corruption Collective Action efforts. Tenova S.p.A. is a leading mechanical engineering company for the steel and non-ferrous metals processing industry headquartered in Castellanza, Italy.
The Basel Institute on Governance is further strengthening its global reputation for independent and practice-oriented expertise in asset recovery. On March 29, Gretta Fenner, Managing Director the Basel Institute, signed an agreement of cooperation with Ecuador’s Attorney General. The objective of the collaboration is to assist and support the Attorney General’s Office in identifying, locating, seizing and repatriating illicit assets arising from acts of corruption or the laundering of assets to the detriment of the Ecuadorian State.
The decision that Jersey shall become a core donor to the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) for a three-year period has been signed by Jersey’s Treasury Minister on Friday 11 May 2018. With this decision, Jersey joins Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the United Kingdom in supporting the implementation of ICAR’s Operational Strategy which has been developed jointly with ICAR’s donors and partner countries.
The results of the seventh annual Basel Anti-Money Laundering Index released today support the growing concern that governments worldwide are still not doing enough to combat money laundering. The Basel AML Index is an independent, research-based ranking that assesses countries' risk exposure to money laundering and terrorist financing.