Enhancing asset recovery outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Effective anti-money laundering (AML) and asset recovery systems are key to curbing IFFs. By removing the financial gain, they act as the ultimate deterrent. The very act of removing illicit proceeds prevents other would-be perpetrators from abusing public funds; recovered assets also contribute to mobilising resources for development. Despite the positive advances over the last two decades, the scale of recovered assets in sub-Saharan Africa remains low.

The Basel Institute on Governance is a hands-on centre of competence dedicated to promoting good governance and countering corruption. Through its International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR), it provides technical assistance to jurisdictions in sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen asset recovery outcomes.

According to the Basel AML Index, an independent ranking and risk assessment tool for money laundering and related financial crime risks, the overall money laundering risk score for the region is 6.28, which is higher than the global average of 5.30. However, compared to 2023, the region has shown slight improvements, with the risk score decreasing from 6.54 to 6.28. The biggest challenge relates to the effectiveness of the AML measures. The average level of effectiveness in the region is only 5%, compared to the global average of 28%.

Weak effectiveness is particularly acute regarding the investigation and prosecution of money laundering offenses (rated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at 5% with a global average of 19%) and the confiscation of proceeds of crime (rated by FATF at 7% with a global average of 27%). The region also underperforms regarding the usage of financial intelligence and international cooperation. ICAR partners with government institutions in sub-Saharan Africa – typically financial intelligence units, investigative agencies (anti-corruption commissions or the police), prosecution authorities and the judiciary – to address these effectiveness gaps through the following interventions:

• Case advice and mentoring, often through embedded specialists working with investigators and prosecutors to conduct financial investigations and develop legal strategies in the context of high-profile, complex asset recovery cases. Crucially, ICAR’s assistance is also focused on facilitating international cooperation – freezing, confiscating and ultimately repatriating assets – from financial centres in Asia, North America and Europe.
• Training and education through customised and interactive training programmes, plus e-learning courses focussed on skills development.
• Legal, policy and institutional strengthening advice focussed on fixing gaps and weaknesses in a partner countries’ legal and institutional setup for AML and asset recovery.
• Analytical and policy advisory support to strengthen AML systems.