News & Blog

A high-level meeting of heads of anti-corruption agencies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last month was a chance to take stock of member countries’ efforts to tackle corruption. The meeting allowed for a reflection on many ongoing activities and discussions around Collective Action in the region this year. It was the perfect opportunity to reflect on how to galvanise joint efforts aga

Dernièrement, l’Afrique de l’Ouest a connu une forte croissance économique et des investissements directs étrangers. Pourtant, elle perd aussi des milliards de dollars en flux financiers illicites, dont la corruption est une composante majeure. L’éradication de la corruption est essentielle pour attirer les investisseurs et favoriser le développement durable. C’est pourquoi l’Action Collective pour la lutte contre

West Africa is experiencing a surge of economic growth and foreign direct investment. Yet it also loses billions of dollars in illicit financial flows, of which corruption is a major component. Rooting out corruption is essential to attract investors and foster sustainable development. This is why anti-corruption Collective Action – jointly tackling corruption issues through multi-stakeholder initiatives with the

Gemma Aiolfi is an international expert in anti-corruption compliance and a driving force behind the development of private sector-led Collective Action. Gemma helped to establish the Basel Institute on Governance in 2003 alongside Professor Mark Pieth. She served as the organisation’s Head of Compliance, Corporate Governance and Collective Action from July 2013 until October 2022, when she transitioned to the role of Senior Advisor. _In

Business entities wishing to implement projects funded by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs, also referred to as International Financial Institutions) will be interested to know that six major MDBs have agreed and published new General Principles for Business Integrity Programmes. Such programmes play an important part in the MDBs’ efforts to fight fraud and corruption in the projects they finance or otherwise support. _These General Principles provide non-exhaustive, non-binding guidance

In last week’s interview on how Collective Action has cut corruption in Nigerian ports, Cecilia Müller Torbrand of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network and Soji Apampa of the Convention on Business Integrity explained their data-driven approach and the measurable impact it has had. In the second part of the interview, Cecilia and Soji _offer lessons for anti-corruption practitioners

The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) delivers leading examples of Collective Action against corruption around the world and Nigeria is one of its flagship success stories. In _collaboration with the Convention on Business Integrity (CBi), the initiative has kept seafarers calling at Nigerian ports safe from corrupt demands since 2019. Their installation of the world’s first real-time incident reporting tool and connected HelpDesk has significantly reduced corrupt demands and earned them

In this guest blog, France Chain and Vitor Geromel of the OECD Anti-Corruption Division present the new OECD Toolkit for raising awareness and preventing corruption in SMEs. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of many countries’ economies. They represent 99 percent of all businesses in the OECD area, generating about 60 percent of employment and totalling

The future is looking bright for Collective Action as our community and Collective Action Mentoring Programme continues to grow. The programme provides free hands-on support for organisations working with the private sector on corruption issues. Programme leaders Scarlet Wannenwetsch and Liza Young look back on the first year and reflect on what we – not just our mentees! – have learned. We look back on a successful yea

_Brazil’s huge agricultural sector is no stranger to corruption scandals – but now a group of agribusinesses are working together with government and civil society to raise standards of integrity and prevent corruption from damaging their business opportunities and reputation. This guest blog by Ana Aranha and Jacqueline Oliveira, Anti-Corruption Manager and Anti-Corruption Coordinator at the UN Global Compact Network Brazil, explains how Collective Action is helping the group to collaborate on

Finding effective ways to achieve environmental, social, and governance (ESG) business goals has just become a lot more critical for companies in the EU. On 29 November 2022, the EU Council adopted the European Parliament’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This amends the Non-Financial Reporting Directive and requires EU companies, and other companies who have substantial business activity in the EU, to c

This blog by Liza Young, Project Associate for Collective Action in the Basel Institute’s Private Sector team, draws on her newly published Policy Brief in English and French on how anti-corruption Collective Action can help West African coastal states achieve their development potential. Africa is estimated to [lose an unbelievable USD 88.6 billion](https://unctad.org/news/africa-could-gain-89-billion-annually-curbing

The B20-G20 dialogue has the potential to transform the way that both the B20 and G20 work towards a more streamlined and impactful process. But what does it take? And how do we get there? Insights from Scarlet Wannenwetsch, who serves as Deputy Co-Chair of the B20 Indonesia Integrity and Compliance Taskforce. The Basel Institute on Governance has been honoured to support this year’s Taskforce as both [Co-Chair and Network Partner](https://baselgovernance.org/news/basel-institute-serve-co

Economic crimes are significant obstacles to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and professional accountants can play a pivotal role to clear a path. This guest blog by Kevin Dancey, CEO of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), marks the launch of IFAC’s new Action Plan for Fighting Corruption and Economic Crime. In 2015 all United Nations Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a shared blu

Multinational companies are no strangers to problems of corruption in their supply chains, which can bring significant legal, financial and reputational risks. Especially when entering new markets, many companies find it difficult to identify credible local partners and to assess their adherence to anti-corruption regulations. Anti-corruption Collective Action can be a means of bridging this gap and facilitating market access for both multinational companies and local suppliers or partners. Som

The Wolfsberg Group – an association of 13 global banks that develops frameworks and guidance to manage financial crime risks – became an independent legal entity in October 2021. Its new home is at the Basel Institute on Governance headquarters in Switzerland. We are proud to host what continues to be a ground-breaking Collective Action against financial crime. Our role

Our joint chapter in a new book on Perspectives on Antitrust Compliance answers a common question that arises when compliance officers and company lawyers first hear about anti-corruption Collective Action: are there antitrust risks in engaging with other industry players through Collective Action? The short answer is no. The longer answer is, as we explain in the

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has launched tailored guidance on measures that companies in the oil, gas and mining sectors can adopt to reduce corruption risks when partnering with state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Published on a user-friendly website, Anticorruption Guidance for Partners of State-Owned Enterprises also recommends measures SOEs can take to strengthen their own anti-corruption safeguards. The guidance was [lau

What are the four biggest developments in anti-corruption Collective Action in the last years? And what are some examples of these around the world? _Gemma Aiolfi spoke on these topics to delegates at a Members Meeting of Etik ve İtibar Derneği (TEİD) – the Turkish Ethics and Reputation Society. TEİD is an inspiring cross-sectoral Collective Action initiative that has b

Key takeaways and perspectives on how to “step up global action for business integrity” from the 9th Conference of the States Parties (CoSP 9) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with Siemens AG, organised a side event at this year’s Conference of the States Part

A guest blog by Bernard O’Donnell, Head of Fraud Investigations at the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Sabine Zindera, Vice President, Legal and Compliance at Siemens AG and head of the Siemens Integrity Initiative. When companies are sanctioned for wrongdoing, is there a way to turn the punitive sanction into a positive force – not only for those wronged, but for wider busin

The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has recommended the use of Collective Action to address corruption in its long-anticipated revised Recommendation of the Council for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (“2021 Anti-Bribery Recommendation”). This is a positive step in efforts to bring

In 2020, the Basel Institute on Governance with the support of the Siemens Integrity Initiative launched a series of roundtable discussions that brought companies together to analyse the potential nexus between corporate efforts to protect human rights and prevent corruption. While bribery has been a prohibited practice under the laws of a majority of countries for over 20 years, and in many places corporate criminal liability for corruption has also been introduced, the corporate responsibilit

A guest blog by Elisabeth Danon, Legal Analyst, OECD Anti-Corruption Division. How can governments in South East Europe partner with the vibrant business sector and civil society to help combat corruption? OECD experts and practitioners shared some novel ideas on this question at a two-day webinar on Collective Action – Building Alliances Against Corruption in South East Europe on 16 and 17 September. The event convened the Collective Action community in South East Europe to take stock of t

Speaking at a B20-G20 dialogue on 13 September, the Basel Institute’s Managing Director Gretta Fenner called on G20 Member States to commit to and support the implementation of a multi-stakeholder approach to promoting integrity in procurement. In concrete terms, she said, this means adopting proven Collective Action tools such as [Inte

A new sector-wide integrity programme seeks to transform and harmonise standards of ethics and compliance across all Moscow City Transport organisations. Alexandr Rusetskiy, a Deputy General Director in the Moscow Directorate of Transport Services, together with Ilsur Akhmetshin of the Compliance-Elements partnership, explain the motivation, approach and challenges in this effort to bring state-of-the-art anti-corruption practices to the sector and beyond. Briefly, what is the Sectoral

The following statement by the Basel Institute’s Managing Director, Gretta Fenner, was aired at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly against Corruption on 4 June 2021. Watch the video here. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for the opportunity to deliver a short statement on behalf of the Basel Institute on Governance. We welcome the political declaration as a text that provides useful guidance. In particular, we welcome those parts of

Our Collective Action team asked the London-based Institute of Business Ethics how it makes its research so practical and useful to decision-makers on the ground. Head of Research, Guen Dondé, explains: Since its foundation in 1986, the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) has always strived to be a safe space for organisations of all kinds to join forces and tackle the ethical issues they are facing. Today, more than

A guest blog by Olga Savran, Manager of the OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Elisabeth Danon, Legal Analyst, OECD Anti-Corruption Division. _This guest blog post explains a new initiative by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Business Ombudsman Council of Ukraine to evaluate regional Business Ombudsman institutions and provide a platform to exchange experiences.

Local certification is emerging as an interesting way for large companies and their supply chains to help address compliance and due diligence issues that can be a barrier to business. A recent Basel Institute working paper showed how local certification programmes developed with a Collective Action approach can help: _SMEs to develop and demonstrate robust anti-corruption compliance pr