“Evolution to Revolution” was the theme of the year for the Basel Institute’s activities promoting Collective Action in 2018. Endorsement of anti-corruption Collective Action in 2018 by the B20 Argentina and UK Anti-Corruption Strategy supports growing acceptance of the concept as a useful tool to tackle bribery. Collective Action is gradually moving towards becoming a global norm.

As the initial phase of a four-year programme to strengthen Public Finance Management in Peru at a subnational level draws to a close, we are intensifying our efforts to consolidate the programme’s significant achievements and ensure their sustainability. Signed in 2015 by the Peruvian and Swiss governments, the four-year, USD 6 million programme is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The Public Governance division supports the Basel Institute’s wider mission of developing evidence-based approaches to combatting public sector corruption. Our research both contributes to academic debate and translates into practical tools to support anti-corruption reforms.

The activities of the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) in 2018 continued to have impact across all aspects of our core mission: to enable partner countries to investigate complex cases of corruption and money laundering, send criminals to jail and recover stolen assets stashed abroad.

As every year when the time comes to write the foreword for our Annual Report, we are filled with pride, gratitude and a sense of satisfaction. It is a privilege to work with passionate people, committed partners and supportive donors, and to work toward a goal that helps make this world a better place.

Someone once said that the more knowledge is freely shared, the more it grows. Our free eLearning courses on asset tracing, intelligence gathering and financial analysis exemplify this idea.

Here are some of the benefits of online courses for financial investigators, analysts and others who need to acquire and practise these complex skills.

The Thai National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has renewed a long-standing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Basel Institute on Governance to jointly foster the prevention of and international collaboration in the fight against corruption.

Members of the Judicial Cooperation and Extraditions of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Peru are now better equipped to recover stolen assets from abroad.