Kosovan financial investigators, police, prosecutors and judges have completed the first phase of an intensive Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programme on financial investigations and asset recovery.

Led by our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) training team in conjunction with UNDP and the Kosovo Judicial Academy, the five-phase TTT programme aims to result in four or five ICAR Certified Trainers while simultaneously training other local participants in the process.

The Basel Institute on Governance is delighted to have signed today a cooperation agreement with the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Kosovo. This agreement lays the foundation for supporting Kosovo in the investigation and prosecution of corruption offences and recovering stolen assets. 

An intensive Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery training programme by our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) training team in Kosovo last week had a novel twist: the participants had the opportunity to discuss and explore ways to use the country’s new Law of Extended Powers on Confiscation of Assets.

Since the early 1990s, with the ever-increasing prospect of integration into the European Union, the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey have taken important steps to develop and strengthen their anti-corruption systems. Progress has been slow, however, and the implementation of laws and policies lags far behind what is envisaged on paper.