At the recent closure of the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) fourth workshop in Bhutan, the Honourable Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Bhutan, Karma Damcho Nidup, emphasised the fact that corruption was not only the purview of the ACC: “It is our collective problem. We need to find collective solutions and we need to address it collectively.”

With a view to enhancing the investigation and asset recovery capacities of the Romanian law enforcement and justice authorities mandated to investigate and prosecute anti-corruption and economic crimes and recover stolen assets, the Basel Institute on Governance, through its International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR), has been providing a series of activities, including specialised training in financial investigation, under a project entitled “Further enhancing the investigation capacities of the Romanian judiciary by improving the asset recovery competences”.

February 2018 has seen the last iteration of the successful "Mapping and Visualizing Cross-Border Crime Project”, a partnership between the Basel Institute on Governance and two not-for-profit organisations in Romania, namely, the Journalism Development Network (JDN) and the RISE Project. 

The Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) celebrated the long-term sustainability of its 2016 Train-the-Trainer project in Uganda when three selected participants conducted their first Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery workshop during 5 – 9 March 2018. These participants received certification as trainers in the ICAR approach and methodology at the end of 2016, and successfully conducted this workshop, independent of the ICAR experts, for 25 of their colleagues.

In response to the challenges facing members of the judiciary, prosecutors and investigators in curbing procurement fraud and corruption in Uganda, training experts from the International Centre for Asset Recovery conducted a five-day specialised training module on investigations into corruption in infrastructure projects and procurement.

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.