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.
In 2017, the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) conducted a Train-the-Trainer project with the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) of Tanzania. At the conclusion of the programme, which was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, four PCCB investigators and prosecutors were certified as trainers in “Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery”, using ICAR’s unique training methodology.
Procurement fraud and corruption are amongst the primary sources of corrupt income around the globe, and Tanzania is no exception in suffering from their disastrous effects. Following a recent report from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) of Tanzania that revealed that multiple projects handled by public institutions were tainted with corruption, the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) was urged to initiate investigations into these projects.
Corruption remains endemic in Ukraine and a severe impediment to democratic and economic development in the country. Support to anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine is a high political priority for the European Union.
In his opening remarks, His Excellency, Mr Urs Herren, Swiss Confederation Ambassador in Romania, emphasised how important it is to enhance the investigation and asset recovery capacities of Romanian law enforcement and justice authorities, mandated to investigate and prosecute financial crimes and recover stolen assets.
On 26 June 2018, the Basel Institute on Governance and the Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption of the African Development Bank (AfDB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening collaboration on anti-corruption projects in regional member countries of the African Development Bank Group.
Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), which represent a country’s official authority for receiving financial information disclosures, are regularly at the forefront of tackling money laundering and terrorist financing. Not surprisingly, they also play a critical role in the asset recovery process. An increasing number of investigations leading to the tracing, identification, seizing/freezing and confiscation of illegal assets are triggered by FIU reports to law enforcement agencies.
Experts from the Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) conducted a five-day Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery training workshop in Ukraine from 27 to 31 August 2018.
Financial interviews are a critical component of a financial investigation. Properly conducted, they enable investigators to extract relevant financial information from informants, witnesses or suspects. This provides not only additional leads to further the investigation but also key evidence that could be used in a court of law.
To ensure positive outcomes for financial crimes and asset tracing investigations by law enforcement agencies, it is vital to help investigators gain the necessary interviewing skills.
In October 2018, Mark Pieth and two assistants Stefan Mbiyavanga and Kathrin Betz delivered a workshop on corruption and money laundering to students in Cape Town. The students are enrolled in the University of the Western Cape’s LL.M programme in Transnational Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention. The programme aims at preparing African lawyers and jurists from various countries for leading positions at both the national and international levels.