Conference programme

This keynote highlights the changing threat landscape, current enforcement shifts, and new cooperative mechanism between regulators and global financial centres.

This panel explores the recalibration of anti-corruption enforcement strategies in the wake of the US enforcement priorities, shifting resource allocations, and the growing complexity of multinational cases. Experts will examine diverging enforcement philosophies and their implications for legal certainty and cross-border cooperation. Discussion will also consider the tension between aggressive enforcement and the need for predictable compliance environments.

Banks and financial intermediaries are increasingly expected to not only prevent corrupt conduct by their employees for the benefit of the financial institution, but also to serve as the first line of defence against corrupt capital flows by bank clients. This session will analyse the evolving expectations for financial institutions in detecting and preventing corruption.   Participants will discuss methods of successfully detecting and preventing corruption by employees and by clients, including the use of data-driven monitoring and coordinated supervision and information-sharing frameworks such as through private-public partnerships.
 

As financial transactions grow more sophisticated, tracing illicit funds requires both advanced analytical capacity and cross-border cooperation. This panel explores new tracing methodologies, including the use of fintech analytics and AI-driven detection, as well as the legal constraints that complicate the seizure and recovery of hidden assets. Discussion will address how differing judicial systems, confidentiality barriers, and sovereign immunity create friction in international recovery efforts. The panel will also review global efforts to uncover hidden ownership, the role of institutions in due diligence, and the effectiveness of transparency initiatives against money laundering and corruption.
 

Large-scale private capital flows, often operating through complex vehicles, increasingly influence global markets yet remain subject to inconsistent scrutiny. This session examines how the shadow banking system can be exploited for corruption-related laundering and how international reform, or the lack thereof, impacts systemic transparency. This panel will also dissect the fragmented global regulatory landscape, discuss enforcement challenges in tracing crypto transactions across borders, and consider whether principles-based regulation can keep pace with technological innovation.
 

Summary of the main debates of day one, with emphasis on lessons drawn from enforcement convergence and diverging regulatory agendas.

A fire-chat with Barbara Levi, Group General Counsel of UBS Group Ltd conducted by Anti-Corruption Committee Senior Vice-Chair, Matthias Gstoehl.

Integrity compliance has increasingly become a foundational element in the sustainable development of the private sector, with significant implications for the global financial system. This discussion will focus on how, within the framework of the Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) Sanctions System, robust integrity standards not only have shaped sustainable private sector growth but have contributed to the development of universally accepted standards for ethical business conduct. By sharing case studies, experts will examine the pivotal role that integrity compliance plays within MDB sanction systems and its far-reaching impact on the global financial system.

Recovering and repatriating stolen assets remains one of the most intricate and politically charged elements of anti-corruption work. This discussion will focus on restitution frameworks, from post-conviction proceedings to negotiated returns, and how they can ensure meaningful reparation. Discussion will also center on how justice for states and victims can be reconciled amid geopolitical constraints and competing sovereign claims. Case studies from recent global settlements will illustrate innovative, yet contentious, models for ensuring that recovered funds contribute to public welfare.

Anti-corruption enforcement now operates in an environment shaped by sanctions, de-risking, and strategic competition among powers. This session examines how economic sanctions and trade controls are increasingly used as anti-corruption tools and how these measures reshape global compliance obligations. The panel will explore how businesses can navigate a fragmented enforcement map influenced as much by diplomacy as by legality.
 

This hands-on discussion highlights strategies for navigating parallel investigations, privilege challenges, and procedural asymmetries between jurisdictions. Practitioners will dissect the realities of engaging with cooperating agencies while preserving clients’ procedural rights. The panel will also explore prosecutorial expectations around cooperation and remediation, and how defense counsel can manage reputational fallout. The conversation will go deeper into strategies for coordinating defense in multi-forum litigation involving asset freezes, extradition requests, and public disclosure pressures.