International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) Business Plan 2011-2013 pptx

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International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR)
Business Plan 2011-2013
Adopted by Board of the Basel Institute on Governance on 22 July 2010
1. Introduction
Corruption is a major impediment to economic growth, social stability and poverty reduction. Most
burdensome to developing and transition countries is the fact that high-level corruption plunders
national wealth when resources are badly needed for investments into important public services
such as health, education and economic development. The World Bank estimates that each year 20-
40 billion USD are stolen from developing countries. Successful asset recovery cases are a strong
signal of countries demonstrating that corruption no longer pays.
Recovering stolen assets is a fundamental principle within the international framework for fighting
corruption and impunity. This principle is enshrined in Chapter V of the UN Convention against
Corruption (UNCAC), which came into force in 2005. Shortly thereafter, the Basel Institute on
Governance established the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) with the support from the
Governments of Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the Principality of Liechtenstein. In 2007, the
United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Bank jointly launched the Stolen
Assets Recovery Initiative (StAR). In the summer 2009, in Pittsburgh, the G-20 subsequently
confirmed that its members should increase support for asset recovery programs that aim to reduce
corruption and improve governance by monitoring and recovering public resources in poor
countries. In December 2009, the UN General Assembly took note of the existing cooperation
between the ICAR with the StAR initiative. Only just recently, in June 2010, a Global Forum on Stolen
Asset Recovery and Development, jointly organised by the Swiss Government and the World Bank,
stressed the urgent need to strengthen the asset recovery framework. This Forum also re-iterated
the strong nexus between fighting corruption and development.
While we have observed a series of positive international efforts and developments in the area of
asset recovery, in fact only very few cases in recent years have been successful in recovering stolen
assets. The main reason for this situation is that the capacities of victim countries are still very low.
Asset recovery is a lengthy and complex process where we cannot and should not expect quick
results. Indeed, asset recovery processes involve a series of stakeholders whose activities need to
be well and timely coordinated on a domestic and on an international level. Not surprisingly

therefore there remains ample room to provide more hands-on assistance and support to developing
and transition countries to more effectively locate, freeze, seize and repatriate stolen assets. Such
assistance is in fact the core mandate of the ICAR which aims to support efforts that seek to increase
the efficiency of the asset recovery process on a longer term basis.
The Basel Institute on Governance, through ICAR, is in a good position to provide technical capacity
building support and assistance to processes of recovering assets. During the past 4 1/2 years, the
ICAR successfully established the necessary institutional and operational framework and resources
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to effectively carry out its mandated activities and efforts which support asset recovery efforts. To
name just a few of those resources: The ICAR has developed a unique hands-on methodology that
provides for fully customized, practical, interactive and participant-based training programme for
financial investigations, mutual legal assistance and asset recovery. The ICAR has provided training
programs on how to conduct financial investigations, nationally and internationally, to over 1000
public officials in more than 30 countries. The ICAR employs experienced practitioners from major
financial centres to support developing countries in pursuing their investigations abroad. The ICAR
has also established a well-known, free-of-charge online knowledge centre for asset recovery
(www.assetrecovery.org). Furthermore it has launched the Asset Recovery Experts Network (AREN),
an informal social networking platform which by now has registered nearly 300 members. The ICAR,
jointly with the Egmont Group, also works on the Asset Recovery Intelligence System (ARIS) which –
once fully developed - will assist FIUs and specialised Law Enforcement Agencies to identify
corruption related transactions. Last but not least, the ICAR has published a number of practical
books and working papers, including the lead publication, “Stolen Assets Recovery”, edited by Mark
Pieth.
The Basel Institute on Governance, through ICAR, has become the leading non governmental
institution in the area of asset recovery. During the past 3 years, the Basel Institute has successfully
developed a noteworthy network of partnerships, through which it is able to more effectively and
transparently conduct its various operational activities. For example, it has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with UNODC and UNICRI, an Executive Agreement with Interpol as well as an

Indefinite Delivery Agreement with the World Bank Group (StAR Initiative) which was has been
extended in May 2010 for another year. Currently the Basel Institute is negotiating an agreement with
the newly established International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA). In addition, the Egmont Group
of Financial Intelligence Units has invited the Basel Institute to become a member of the Donors and
Providers Contact Group on Technical Assistance and Training. It also continues to maintain close
working relationships with – among others - the OECD Working Group on Bribery, the OECD DAC
Anti-Corruption Task Team, the International Criminal Court, bilateral donors, the Academy of
European Law (ERA) and the IMF.
2. Conclusions from previous work and looking ahead
In our view, the current asset recovery process still suffers from a number of significant constraints.
The ICAR can address these deficiencies in the manner as described below.
Table 1: Indentified constraints in the asset recovery process and possible ICAR interventions

Identified constraint
ICAR’s intervention
Lack of political will (in financial centres and in
developing countries)
- Support countries to ratify and implement
UNCAC
- Support civil society organisations to advocate
cases
- Increase awareness among donors and
international organisations
Lack of domestic resources to investigate financial
- Financial investigation and asset recovery
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crime and corruption
Training

- Case consultancy: Strategic case advice
- Develop and promote innovative legal tools
Lack of transparency in financial transactions and
structures
- Develop the Asset Recovery Intelligence System
(ARIS), jointly with Egmont Group of FIUs
- Coordinate efforts with the Task Force on
Financial Integrity and Economic Development
- Support countries to implement UNCAC and
FATF1 40&9 Recommendations
- Support civil society organisations to trace
assets
Lack of domestic cooperation
- Multi-stakeholder trainings (including FIU,
investigators, prosecutors, and, if applicable,
judges)
- Support the creation of an inter-agency asset
recovery working group and task forces
- Provide investigative/prosecutorial manuals and
checklists
- Asset Recovery Expert Network (AREN)
Lack of international cooperation
- MLA training
- Facilitation of formal cooperation and
coordination
- Provision and access to networking tools (AREN)
- Support regional networks (e.g. ARINSA)
- Organise experts meetings to exchange
experience/best practices
Lack of knowledge

- Develop and provide practitioners handbooks
(e.g. asset tracing, typologies of laundering the
proceeds of corruption)
- Conduct research on specific topics
- Knowledge Centre (www.assetrecovery.org)

Many activities in previous years have been carried out on behalf of or in cooperation with an
intergovernmental organisation. Thus far, these organisations have not implemented any kind of
outcome monitoring mechanism. In most cases, participants of such trainings simply reported back
to the ICAR, letting the ICAR know that they were extremely pleased with the ICAR training style and
product. In some exceptional cases, the countries reverted back to the ICAR requesting additional
assistance on a particular case. However, such informal channels and arrangements have not really
enabled the ICAR to adequately measure the impact of its products and services. In addition, the
ICAR has in fact also worked on a number of concrete asset recovery cases. Yet, these cases have
not produced any direct, or tangible results in form of seized and/or repatriated assets. Only in one
country, can the ICAR claim to have assisted the country in freezing significant assets following our
intervention. In this particular incident, the cases are still under investigation.
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Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering
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To address this issue, the ICAR will increase its work on case specific support and enhance its
monitoring mechanism to measure the impact of its operational activities for the next phase (2011-
2013). There will be a constant need for ongoing training, but training will only be provided to
countries that have and demonstrate the necessary political will to recover stolen assets and where
there is a potential for ongoing work on specific cases. This more narrow focus will allow the ICAR to
concentrate its training efforts on a smaller number of countries and thereby offering more targeted
capacity building assistance. By providing training programs in a more focused manner, and

complemented by a number of ICAR technology-based and other tools, the intensified effort and
focus to invest ICAR resources into case specific support and work will result in higher numbers of
Mutual Legal Assistance requests, will lead to an increase in freezing actions of assets, domestically
and abroad, as well as to an increase in observed seizing and recovery of stolen assets actions. The
ICAR will continue to be able to combine the operational activities with with policy dialogue at
international level.
3. Vision, mission and values
In June 2010, for the purpose of defining and guiding its work for the next years, the ICAR team
adopted the following vision, mission and value statements.

Vision
Our vision is to be a leading provider of technical and advisory services to render capacity
building assistance to countries in their efforts to recover stolen assets. By 2013, the ICAR will
have supported developing countries in their endeavours to recover assets in the range of USD
30 – 50 million.
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4. Objectives / expected outcomes
The ICAR’s overall objective is to contribute to the reduction of corruption in developing and
transition countries by providing for practical assistance to detect and investigate financial crime and
thereby contributing to improved conditions of rule of law.
The more specific objective is to support the process of recovering proceeds of corruption (“stolen
assets”) as referred to in the UN Convention against Corruption, both in developing countries and in
financial centres.

Specific outcomes by end-2013
1. In the countries where the ICAR is focusing its technical assistance (ICAR partner countries):

- An annual increase of 10% in he number of new financial investigations
with an asset recovery element;
- An annual increase of 10% in the number of Mutual Legal Assistance
requests
- At least USD 10 million are frozen domestically
2. In the relevant financial centres where ICAR partner countries have requested Mutual Legal
Assistance:
- At least USD 20 million are frozen based on MLA requests which have been
submitted with the assistance of the CAR
3. The ICAR will have supported at least 3 FIUs, investigative bodies or civil society
organisations in tracing stolen assets
Our mission & values
We are an independent, non-profit, multi-disciplinary centre of excellence in asset recovery.
Our mission is to provide research-based policy guidance, as well as legal advice and capacity
building to developing countries and countries in transition. Our approach involves the
development and delivery of tailor-made, interactive training programmes and country-specific
consultancy services with the support of practical technology-based tools. We consistently
work to respond flexibly to a country’s specific needs in enhancing their skills and capacities
to trace, identify, seize, freeze, confiscate and repatriate stolen assets. Our methodologies
apply a coordinated, integrated and partnership-oriented approach to ensure sustainability of
the services provided to the countries.
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These outcomes will be monitored on a country level, for ICAR partner countries only. ICAR will
select up to 6-8 countries (partner countries) that fulfil the following criteria:
- Part of a region where ICAR has focussed on in the past (South East Asia, Sub-Saharian
Africa, CIS)
- Necessary degree of political will
- No overlap with other donors, unless the activities can be coordinated

- Availability of a local partner on the ground (e.g. an Anti-Corruption Agency, a donor, an
NGO) that can assist in monitoring the outcomes
- Possibility to combine at least 2 of ICAR’s main products (training, case consultancy, tools)

Monitoring sheet:

Country
Indicator
Outcome
Hypothesis
XX

New financial
investigations with an
asset recovery element
+ 10% from previous
year
Unified methodology
needed
MLA Requests sent in
connection with
financial investigations
+ 10% from previous
year
CA statistics must be
available
Freezing of potential
proceeds of financial
crime domestically
USD 10 million within 3

years

Freezing of potential
proceeds of financial
crime in foreign country,
based on request by
ICAR partner country
USD 20 million within 3
years
Monitoring mechanism
with financial centre
authority needed
New asset tracing
successes
3 success stories within
3 years
Contact via Egmont
Group and CSO coalition

5. Strategy
To achieve these objectives, the ICAR will follow these lines of intervention:

1. Continue to offer hands-on technical assistance in the area of capacity building in the
form of customized training, legal and case consultancy (coaching, facilitating) and
providing for tools to facilitate the asset recovery process;
2. Strengthen its capacities for policy development and research;
3. Concentrate its activities on regions where the ICAR has worked before, where a
reliable partner has been identified and where it is, as much as possible, familiar with
the current local and political situation;
4. Focus on countries where case specific support is more likely to lead to concrete

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success (ICAR partner countries);
5. Continue to expand its network of partnerships with World Bank, Interpol, Council of
Europe, IMF, OECD AC Task Force and UNODC and establish new partnerships with
IACA, CARIN, Europol and other key players;
6. Jointly with its partners, identify entry points for enhancing case work and flexibly
allocate resources to facilitate the cooperation between requested and requesting
countries;
7. Contribute to strengthening the legal framework by initiating and/or promoting
innovative legal concepts that will address deficiencies in the asset recovery process;
8. Enhance cooperation with civil society to support the discovery of asset recovery cases,
enhance the flow of information and the monitoring of returned assets;
9. Strengthen its mechanism(s) for monitoring impact in recipient countries;
6. Stakeholders and beneficiaries
Table 2: Stakeholders in the asset recovery process

Stakeholder
Role in the asset recovery process
ICAR’s intervention
Civil Society
Advocacy

Civil Litigation

Publicity

Monitoring the use of recovered
assets

- Expert meeting and
publication on the role
and responsibility of the
non state actors
- Supporting civil society
with collecting
intelligence
- Research on the
monitoring of returned
assets
Lawyers
Representing victims (lawyers) in civil
and criminal cases

- Expert meeting and
publication on the role
and responsibility of the
non state actors
- Assistance in the
selection of experienced
law firms for victim
countries
Private sector (Financial
Institutions in particular)
Preventing proceeds of crime from
entering into the financial sector

Detecting crime

Reporting to FIU

- Expert meeting and
publication on the role
and responsibility of the
non state actors
- Development of red
flags/typologies for
financial institutions
- Training of financial
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institutions to detect
corruption
- Implementation of
effective PEP
requirements
Financial Intelligence Units (FIU)
Collecting and analysing intelligence

Disseminating intelligence to law
enforcement

Exchanging intelligence internationally
- Asset Recovery
Intelligence System
(ARIS)
- Financial Investigations
and Asset Recovery
Training
- Development of red

flags/typologies
- Asset Recovery Experts
Network (AREN)
- IT assessments
- Knowledge Centre
Investigative bodies
Investigating financial crime
(corruption and money laundering)

Exchanging information with other
investigative bodies internationally

- Financial Investigations
and Asset Recovery
Training
- ARIS
- AREN
- IT assessments
- Knowledge Centre
Prosecutorial bodies
Prosecuting financial crime (corruption
and money laundering)
- Financial Investigations
and Asset Recovery
Training
- AREN
- Knowledge Centre

Central authorities for mutual legal
assistance (MLA)

Liaising between countries that
request and receive legal assistance
- Financial Investigations
and Asset Recovery
Training
- Specific MLA training
- AREN
- Knowledge Centre

Courts
Decision taking in criminal and civil
cases
- Financial Investigations
and Asset Recovery
Training
- Providing for information
on foreign court
decisions (knowledge
centre)
- Knowledge Centre
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Ministry of Justice / Anti-
Corruption Commissions /
Parliaments
Preparing legal framework
- Financial Investigations
and Asset Recovery

Training
- Legal opinions
- Gap analysis
- Promoting and
developing innovative
legal tools
- Knowledge Centre
International Organisations and
Donors
Raising awareness

Participating in policy dialogue
- Brochures on asset
recovery and AML
- Participation in
international for a and
working groups
- Expert presentations
- Research

Financial Intelligence Units, investigative and prosecutorial bodies, central MLA authorities courts
and the judiciary are principle beneficiaries of ICAR. The ICAR stakeholders are indirect beneficiaries.
7. Guiding principles
The ICAR seeks to provide tailor-made, country-specific, coordinated and highly targeted capacity
building assistance, by combining practical training and case consulting, and by embedding its
practice oriented work into policy development and research.
7.1. Tailor-made training and needs-driven approach
The concepts of “needs-driven” and “country- or region- specific” are two key principles that guide
the activities of the ICAR. The application of these principles is achieved by consistently working in
close cooperation with local authorities and partner institutions, and by working in country, onsite, as

much as possible. In the context of training, this means for instance that an onsite fact-finding
mission is conducted 2-3 months prior to each country training in order to identify a country’s major
capacity gaps and needs, and to gain a comprehensive understanding of the applicable legal and
institutional framework of the country. As such, the ICAR trainers are then able to fully integrate the
partner country’s laws, institutions, procedures and tools into their training programs, and to actively
engage local capacity to ensure a high degree of relevance and sustainability of the trainings.
7.2. Practice-oriented
To ensure that the ICAR’s activities have a direct influence on a country’s success in recovering
stolen assets, all ICAR activities are consistently related to actual cases as closely as possible. All
activities are delivered by experienced practitioners. Trainings are designed as interactive working
exercises rather than university style lectures, to ensure that these practical exercises are as realistic
as possible. Using password protected IT training systems, trainees are led from one investigative
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lead to the next, as they successfully solve one element after another of the investigation. As they do
so, they simultaneously are required to learn how to systematically and efficiently analyse and file
case documents, how to proceed strategically both within their own jurisdiction as well as at the
international level, and at what stages to involve which outside authorities.
7.3. Cooperation and coordination with key stakeholders
The ICAR will seek to cooperate closely with all relevant actors and stakeholders, including
governments, intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organizations, academia, the
private sector, professional associations, and the international and local donor community. To
ensure a high level of synergy with other institutions that offer comparable services in related fields,
partnerships of both formal and informal nature will be sought regularly with key initiatives in the
area of asset recovery.
Particular interest will be placed on the coordination with the World Bank/UN ODC StAR Initiative and
with Interpol, to avoid overlap and duplication. ICAR will regularly inform its partners on planned
activities and seek coordination.
On the domestic level, the ICAR will consistently seek to provide its activities to a wide range of

stakeholders that are involved in the asset recovery process (see table below). The ICAR has
identified a need to enhance domestic cooperation and therefore continues to focus on and apply a
multi-stakeholder approach in the delivery of its services. The lack of domestic cooperation has been
identified as a detriment to the success of many actual asset recovery cases (see Table 1, above).
7.4. Outcomes driven and sustainable
Our capacity building programmes are not delivered just for the sake of delivering them. We closely
monitor each activity and we have developed a set of indicators for each activity (see Annex 1).
Monitoring impact is not an easy task: Asset recovery processes are by definition very time
consuming. Success will depend on external factors such as continued political will over years –
something that the ICAR cannot influence directly. The ICAR does not have permanent operations in
the countries where the ICAR is active. We depend on third parties’ involvement in our programmes
to monitor success. The specific outcomes which can be observed, and therefore potentially
monitored, are an increase in the number of domestic financial investigations, an increase in the
number of mutual legal requests to foreign countries and an increase in freezing proceeds of crime
domestically and internationally. We can only successfully monitor impact of our work if:
- We focus our work on a limited number of regions (countries where we have worked before
and we are familiar with the local situation)
- We work closely with a local partner (an NGO, an international organisation that has a more
permanent kind of operation on the ground, or a local agency) over several years and involve
them in the monitoring process
- We offer, if applicable, the whole range of capacity building activities (training, consultancy,
tools) to a specific country, not only one element
- We only engage in countries that are likely to have cases and that demonstrate the
necessary political will to recover stolen assets
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By establishing the Asset recovery Experts Network (AREN), the ICAR has created a tool that will
allow it to stay in contact with all beneficiaries over a longer time. In two countries (Nigeria and
Liberia), the ICAR has conducted train-the-trainers programs where the trained participants were

equipped with the full set of training documents to carry on the work once the ICAR training has
been completed. The ICAR will also use e learning tools to keep the process as sustainable as
possible.
8. ICAR fields of intervention: Capacity building and policy development/
research
The ICAR sees the process of building capacity in asset recovery as a longer-term and continuous
effort in which all relevant stakeholders of the process ought to be involved, i.e. ministries, law
enforcement authorities, non-governmental organizations, professional associations, academics and
others. For effectively building capacity in the field of asset recovery, the ICAR believes that the
capacity building package should best include the following key elements, in particular in order to be
able to create a greater chance of sustainability and longevity: Training (see sections 7.1./8.1.), legal
and case consultancy (see sections 7.2./8.2.) and asset recovery support tools (see sections
7.3./8.3.).
Practical work in the area of training and case consultancy will be based on and accompanied by
basic and applied research and embedded in the ICAR’s work at the policy level. Maintaining a
dialogue between academia and practice is crucial to ensure that reform and capacity building
processes are in line with political and practical considerations, with evolving international standards
and with current legal practices. These tasks will be conducted by a newly established Policy
Development and Research Department (see sections 7.4/8.4.).
8.1. Training (Annex 1.1)
The interactive financial investigation and asset recovery training programme the most requested
ICAR activity of the past years. Its cornerstone is a country-specific, fully customised and computer–
based practical exercise that spans over several days. The training programme also includes an
overview of money laundering and corruption investigations centred around a very specific case
study. The participants/trainees are composed of representatives from different agencies involved in
the asset recovery process: Investigators, prosecutors, representatives of FIUs, Anti-Corruption
agencies and Central Authorities. The training programme can be delivered in various options
ranging from 3-10 days, from a shorter basic training to a more advanced, longer training for more
experienced participants. The basic version can also be delivered as a paper-based programme in
cases where computers are not available. The training can be provided for one country only (national

version) or for a region (up to 15 countries, regional version).
In addition to the interactive financial investigation and asset recovery training, the ICAR provides for
a train-the-trainer module that consists of a multi-phased programme designed to both enhance the
investigative and prosecution capacities within a country, and also to professionally further develop
national experts who subsequently themselves will be capable of training practitioners. The ICAR
also offers training programmes for FIUs and for senior officials and policy makers.
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In the area of IT, the ICAR provides for 2-day interactive IT trainings. These trainings increase the
capacities of the trainees to use software tools to trace and identify assets by means of using the
internet and other open source tools. This option can be offered as a stand-alone service or as a
preparatory service in advance of the interactive financial investigation and asset recovery training.
In the future, the ICAR will develop e-learning opportunities, especially as a refresher for participants
of previous trainings.
8.2. Legal and case consultancy (Annex 1.2)
In the area of legal consultancy work, the ICAR provides for reviews of existing and proposed new
legislation in the fields of asset recovery and related criminal justice areas. A cornerstone of the legal
work is the systematic comparison of national legislation and practices with the UNCAC provisions
through a broad national consultative process (UNCAC Gap Analysis). These analyses will assist the
countries to bring their system into full compliance with UNCAC. Such assessments have been
conducted for Indonesia, Bangladesh and Kenya. Currently, the ICAR works with UNDP on Mongolia,
Bhutan and Laos.
The ICAR offers wide access to open source information and offers analysis of such information upon
request by a specific country or a civil society organisation, with a view to gather enough intelligence
to launch an investigation.
The ICAR also provides for investigation/prosecution assistance in various areas (details see annex
1.2). It also provides for country-specific checklists and manuals for investigation and/or prosecution
of cases. The ICAR can, inter alia, assist countries or international organisations such as the
International Criminal Court (ICC) to draft mutual legal assistance requests, facilitate the contacts

between requesting and requested countries, review relevant documents, and give advice of the
strategy how to conduct an investigation/prosecution.
8.3. AR tools (Annex 1.3)
In the area of IT tools, the ICAR, jointly with the Egmont Operational Working Group, is currently
developing the Asset Recovery Intelligence System (ARIS). ARIS is a web-based tool to support FIU
analysts and investigators. It provides on demand profiles on persons and companies surfacing in
suspicious transaction reports and corruption cases. These profiles will connect names with assets,
locations and related persons/entities.
The Asset Recovery Experts Network (AREN) has been launched at the 3rd Conference of State
Parties in Doha in 2009. It currently has over 250 members and is a web-based, free-of-charge social
network where experts from the private and the public sector can share information and experience,
and get access to experts knowledge on matters related to asset recovery. The plan is to involve the
ICAR itself more actively in moderating AREN. AREN should also become a tool to measure impact of
our activities, by keeping in touch with all stakeholders with which the ICAR has worked.
The ICAR has successfully set up an internationally recognised Knowledge Centre for Asset Recovery
(www.assetrecovery.org). This free web-based resource centre compiles all relevant information on
legislation, stakeholders, tools, cases and also offers a news section. The Knowledge Centre is
planned to be integrated with AREN (see above). The ICAR also provides for expert advice in setting
up case management systems and evaluates IT systems for relevant stakeholders.
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8.4. Policy development and research (Annex 1.4)
The ICAR’s research activities benefit from collaboration and staff exchange with the Public
Governance Department of the Basel Institute on Governance, the University of Basel, in particular its
law faculty. The ICAR continues to build a solid foundation of research-based evidence and
knowledge relevant to the practice and policy development in the area of asset recovery, e.g. by
conducting comparative analysis and reviews of legal asset recovery practices or of underlying
governance issues or the particular challenges of asset recovery in the context of failed states.
At the international level, the ICAR will continue to share its experience with other key stakeholder

groups and seek to promote and contribute to policy development and debate, as well as to the
global reform processes. The Basel Institute on Governance is an active member of the open-ended
UNCAC Working Groups on Asset Recovery, the Egmont Operational Working Group, the Taskforce
on Illicit Flows, and is a partner to the Swiss Government in the Lausanne process. It regularly
convenes expert and donors meetings in Basel to contribute towards processes of harmonisation
and coordination of asset recovery processes internationally. In September 2010, the ICAR will hold a
2-day expert meeting on the role of non-stake actors in asset recovery.
9. Planned activities 2011-2013
9.1. In the area of training, the ICAR will:
- Deliver at least 3 national financial investigations and asset recovery trainings per year
- Deliver at least 1 regional training per year, possibly in co-operation with IACA, per year
- Deliver at least 2 MLA trainings per year in the framework of a specific case
- Deliver refresher courses, as appropriate
- Further develop and deliver at least 2 IT trainings for investigators and prosecutors per year
- Develop a new training module for FIUs by mid-2011
- Develop a asset recovery training module for senior officials / policy makers by end-2011
- Develop additional training modules upon request
- Complement the existing training programmes with e-learning modules/courses
9.2. In the area of legal and case consultancy, the ICAR will
- Actively support 2 ongoing international asset recovery cases in 2011; 3 in 2011; and 4-5 in
2012
- Regularly collect and analyse open source information relating to open cases with a view to
gathering sufficient info to launch an investigation at least once per year
- Provide for 4-6 legal opinions/reviews per year
- Develop a practical manual on investigation corruption cases
- Conduct, jointly with other departments of the Institute, at least 2 UNCAC Gap Analysis.
9.3. In the area of asset recovery support tools, the ICAR will:
- Finish the prototype for ARIS by mid-2011 and install the system in at least 3 FIUs by end-
2012
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- Actively moderate and expand AREN to at least 500 members by end-2011 and 1000
members by end-2013
- Integrate AREN and the Knowledge Centre into an International Asset Recovery Forum
- Assess in at least one country per year the existing IT infrastructure and give advice on how
to improve these
- Finalise the training automation tool that will allow to automatically customize all training
modules.
9.4. In the area of policy development and research, the ICAR will:
- Build a strong coalition of non-state actors in the area of asset recovery, inter alia by
organising at least one technical experts meeting per year
- Jointly with the Swiss and/or other Governments or IGOs, organise conferences (e.g.
Lausanne conferences)
- Liaise with the institutions involved in research work on illicit financial flows, identify and
follow up on common agendas, including organising a conference with other stakeholders
on this topic
- Regularly provide expert opinions in leading international newspapers/journals on the
subject of asset recovery and related areas
- Provide for at least 1 working paper and 1 policy paper per year
- Provide for at least 2 book contributions per year
- Provide for a second edition of the “Stolen Assets Recovery” book by mid-2012
10. Resources and budget
After having successfully completed the start up phase, the ICAR is now entering a moderate growth
expansion phase.
The ICAR currently has 11 full time staff positions (1 management, 4 training, 2 legal and case
consultancy, 4 tools and research). The logistical support is provided by the Resources and
Operational Support Unit of the Basel Institute on Governance. In view of the ongoing increase in
demand for ICAR services and products, the current resources are insufficient to meet this demand.
To achieve its objectives, ICAR will need to occupy the post of Head of Policy Development and

Research, hire a researcher, and increase the staff in the legal and case consultancy department,
and in the tools department by one full time staff each. The staffing of the training unit is sufficient
for the time being. ICAR will continue to work with experienced external consultants, if needed and
appropriate.
11. Organisation
The ICAR is an integral part of the Basel Institute on Governance. From 2011 onwards, and subject to
funding, the ICAR will be structured into four departments: Training, Legal and Case Consultancy,
Support Tools and Policy Development/Research. The manager of the ICAR is the Executive Director
of the Basel Institute on Governance.
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12. Governance
The Basel Institute on Governance is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Oversight and governance
are ensured by the Board of the Basel Institute, composed of Prof Mark Pieth (President), Prof Anne
Peters (Vice-President), Dr Marco Balmelli, Dr Hans-Peter Bauer, Dr Thomas Christ, Prof Till Förster,
Prof Lukas Handschin and Prof Anton Schnyder. The responsibilities of the Board include, in
particular:
- Long-term strategy
- Decisions on appointment for permanent positions
- Budget / financial reporting
- Large contracts and MoUs
- Oversight of case consultancy activities

In 2011, the ICAR will establish an Advisory Board that will reflect ICAR’s need for external support
and guidance. This Advisory Board will be composed of practitioners and policy makers in the area of
asset recovery.
13. Risks and risk mitigation
As described above, asset recovery is a time-consuming process between two countries – a process
which very much depends on:

- The political will of both parties to cooperate
- A sufficient legal framework and sufficient capacities, especially - but not only - in developing
countries
- The ability of the ICAR to offer its assistance on a longer term basis through experienced
practitioners
- Donor support
The ICAR cannot directly influence political will. The risk of lacking political will can be mitigated by:
- Working closely with intergovernmental organisations that can reach the political decision
makers
- Working closely with donors in the relevant countries
- Focusing on countries that are likely to show the necessary political will

The ICAR can directly address the issue of lack of capacities. However, a lack of relevant capacities is
often very pronounced, in particular in developing countries. This risk factor can be mitigated by:
- Concentrating our work on a smaller number of countries, but offering them longer term and
continuous assistance
- Strengthening the position of individual “champions” in these countries, e.g. by certifying
them
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The ICAR will depend on renowned practitioners with international experience. There is a risk that
ICAR staff leave the Centre after a short period of time. This risk can be mitigated by:
- Offering international staff a salary structure that is comparable to international
organisations, including usual relocation and family benefits
- Finding a solution with the Swiss Government on an exemption of staff from income taxes