ICAR investigators, prosecutors, trainers and legal advisors work with government partners across four continents to:

1. Break new ground in transnational asset recovery cases. The demand and buy-in for ICAR’s case-based assistance is formalised via Case Consultancy Agreements we sign with our government partners. These give us the legal mandate to support live financial crime investigations and prosecutions, including some of the highest profile and most complex transnational corruption cases. ICAR-supported cases resulted in the recovery of USD 62.9 million in assets in 2025.
2. Maximise asset recovery tools and innovation. ICAR helps partner countries to expand their asset recovery toolkit and their capacity to apply appropriate tools to investigate, confiscate and recover illicit assets. This includes legal instruments such as non-conviction based confiscation laws and negotiated agreements for asset returns.
3. Strengthen the asset recovery chain. The asset recovery “chain” is only as strong as its weakest link. We assist partner countries in strengthening their weaker links. ICAR supports legal and institutional reform efforts, from amending or introducing new legislation to establishing Asset Recovery Offices.
4. Foster communities and leaders. People are at the centre of the Basel Institute’s approach, because it is people that drive long-term behavioural and institutional change. We invest in developing leaders and champions of asset recovery at the national, regional and global levels through international networks and partnerships, and by building communities of practice that drive asset recovery forward.

Strong systems to detect, disrupt and recover illicit financial flows are essential for asset recovery and financial crime enforcement. We support governments, institutions and international partners to strengthen AML/CFT and broader financial crime frameworks through advisory, technical assistance and training.

Our work includes support on national and sectoral risk assessments, financial crime risk analysis, policy and institutional strengthening, and helping countries prepare for and respond to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluations.

This work is informed by operational experience and specialist tools including the Basel AML Index, our independent ranking and risk assessment tool for money laundering and related financial crime risks around the world.

Together, these approaches help to:

• strengthen countries’ understanding of financial crime risks and how to respond to them;
• identify trends and emerging threats in illicit finance;
• support preventive measures and informed policymaking, grounded in data and real-world experience

One pillar of our Green Corruption programme focuses on applying “follow-the-money” approaches to environmental crime and corruption cases.

We assist environmental enforcement authorities with tailored training and case assistance. Some have now achieved their first ever asset recovery successes, including in cases targeting millions of dollars in assets linked to forestry, gold trafficking and illegal wildlife trade.

Based on our hands-on experience, we develop cutting-edge research and tools for tackling environmental enforcement challenges, such as corruption risks in the global race for critical minerals.

In Peru, in close collaboration with ICAR experts, we support regional and local authorities to recover stolen public funds. This work is part of our wider Public Finance Management assistance programme, Programa GFP Subnacional.

These efforts have led to the recovery of millions of dollars in misappropriated public funds – helping to reduce impunity for corruption in Peruvian communities.

Our advisors’ on-the-ground experience in combating financial crime combines with deep knowledge of the local context and of international standards.