Past Event

Partnerships for Anticorruption Global Forum 2025

The World Bank Group’s Partnerships for Anticorruption Global Forum is a global platform that will focus on the importance of partnerships in collectively advancing the fight against corruption.

The Partnerships for Anticorruption Global Forum, was held on April 8-9, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The World Bank Group's Anticorruption for Development Global Program (AC4D) and the International Corruption Hunters Alliance (ICHA) hosted the Forum.

co host banner for Anticorruption Forum 5 co host banner for Anticorruption Forum - 1

Corruption is a major impediment to development as it diverts resources from more productive uses and negatively affects shared prosperity on a livable planet by disproportionally benefiting those in power.

Aware of corruption's high societal and environmental costs, the World Bank Group has evolved to take on corruption’s transnational dimensions, better tailor approaches to different contexts, and adopt a more integrative approach to strengthen focus on results and outcomes, by mobilizing new knowledge, data, tools, and partnerships. Achieving long-term economic growth and shared prosperity requires us to work together with partners in government, international organizations, private sector, academia, and civil society to address corruption and its corrosive impacts.

The Forum featured a keynote address by Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 2024 Nobel Laureate. Professor Acemoglu’s session on Harnessing Technology for Transparency, Stronger Institutions, and Prosperity was livestreamed. You can watch the recording here.

ICHA and AC4D brought together over 400 partners, leaders, and practitioners from government, academia, civil society, the private sector, and other international development organizations working on anticorruption and integrity.

The 2025 Global Forum focused on the importance of partnerships in collectively advancing the fight against corruption. Sessions were streamed online and included panel discussions on critical topics such as Accountability, Institutions and the Rule of Law, Beneficial Ownership Transparency and Fighting Illicit Financial Flows, Procurement Systems and Private Partnerships, and Data, Technology, and Climate Change. 

The Forum was hosted by the World Bank Group and co-hosted by Transparency International,  the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office from the UK (FCDO), the Government of Sweden, the Government of Norway, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Chandler Foundation, and the Open Government Partnership.

DATE: April 8 & 9, 2025

WHERE: World Bank Group Headquarters, Washington, DC

Day 1 Agenda: Tuesday, April 8, 2025

TIME & LOCATION

SESSION DETAILS

7.30 AM - 9.00 AM
MC Front lobby 
Registration and Breakfast
Note: Registration ends at 8:45 am
9.00 AM - 9.15 AM
Preston Auditorium

Getting Started - Overview of Agenda; Expected Outcomes

9.15 AM - 10.00 AM
Preston Auditorium

Welcome & Introduction: The Role of Partnerships in Curbing Corruption | Watch the Replay

Speakers

  • Mouhamadou Diagne, Vice President, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group 
  • Arturo Herrera, Institutions Global Director, The World Bank
  • Moderator: Delia Ferreira, Former Chair, Transparency International (TI) 
10.00 AM - 10.15 AM
Preston Auditorium

Opening Remarks

10.15 AM - 11.15 AM
Preston Auditorium

Plenary 1: The Role of Elected/Public Officials in the Fight Against Corruption | Watch the Replay

This panel discussion aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the pivotal role that elected/public officials play in combating corruption and to foster a dialogue on effective approaches to strengthening partnerships in integrity and accountability in governance. This session will explore the critical role that elected/public officials play in combating corruption within their jurisdictions and to identify effective strategies, challenges, and best practices in this ongoing struggle.  

Speakers: 

  • Yemi Osinbajo, Former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
  • Diana Salazar, Attorney General, State Attorney General Office, Ecuador
  • Amarah Konneh, Senator of the Republic of Liberia
  • Akingbolahan Adeniran, Legal and Program Director, Project Expedite Justice, and Former Attorney-General of Ogun State, Nigeria
  • Moderator: Richelieu Edwin Lomax, Regional Team Leader, Africa East & South Investigations, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group
11.15 AM - 11.45 AM
MC Front Lobby
Coffee Break 

11.45 AM - 12.45 PM
Preston Auditorium

Plenary 2: Beneficial Ownership Transparency and Fighting Illicit Financial Flows |Watch the Replay

The abuse of shell companies has been a central obstacle to anticorruption efforts for decades. Anonymous corporate vehicles are a preferred instrument of those seeking to launder illicit gains, evade taxes on lawful earnings or avoid sanctions. This plenary will examine country efforts and international initiatives to curb illicit financial flows through increased transparency of beneficial ownership information. The discussion will focus on country execution of international standards and what this means in practice, challenges and obstacles to effective implementation, and the impact on domestic resource mobilization and development. 

Speakers:

  • Ashish Kumar, Policy Specialist, Financial Action Task Force Secretariat 
  • Musa Adamu Aliyu, Chair, Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission, Nigeria 
  • Carlos Melgar, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Public Finance, Guatemala
  • Lu Ecclestone, Deputy Head, Illicit Finance and Corruption, Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), United Kingdom
  • Moderator: Yira Mascaró, Practice Manager, Finance Competitiveness and Innovation, Latin America and the Caribbean, The World Bank Group
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Preston Auditorium

Plenary 3 – State Capture and Corruption |Watch the ReplayView Presentation

Speakers:  

  • Daniel Kaufmann, President Emeritus, Natural Resource Governance Institute  
  • Luis Felipe Lopez Calva, Director, Poverty Global Department, The World Bank Group
  • Jodi Vittori, Professor of Practice, Georgetown University, United States
  • Mark Pyman, Founder, Curbing Corruption, United Kingdom 
  • Moderator: Francesca Recanatini, Lead Economist, Institutions Global Department, The World Bank 

1.45 PM - 2.50 PM
Atrium

Lunch with World Bank Executive Directors 

3.00 PM - 4.00 PM

Parallel Sessions 

MC-C1-100

1. Fighting Corruption in a Conflict Zone

Treating corruption as a second order problem that takes a backseat to peace and stability can have far-reaching repercussions once peace is achieved. An institution that becomes fundamentally corrupt during a period of conflict will likely be resistant to change once peace is established. Capacity building and strengthening governance in state institutions must continue during times of conflict. In terms of actively investigating corruption, there are several adaptive techniques that can be employed to navigate conflict zones, including remote surveillance technology (including satellite imagery), the use of local third-party monitoring agents, promoting citizen engagement and local civil societies and, to the greatest extent possible, supporting local investigative journalism.  Routine methods of fighting fraud and corruption, such as conducting audits or field visits, can be difficult or even impossible to pursue in conflict zones. This session will seek to address the following questions: Do anticorruption efforts have to be suspended during civil or military conflicts? Does corruption become an ancillary or second order problem that takes a backseat to peace and stability? Or are there viable alternatives to continue to scrutinize corruption?

Panelists:

  • Arkan El Seblani, Regional Chief Anti-Corruption and Integrity Advisor and Programme Manager, United Nations Development Programme Regional Hub for Arab States
  • Kelley Swift, Manager, Investigations Unit, United Nations Office for Project Services, Denmark 
  • Jocelyne Jabbour, Senior Procurement Specialist, East Latin America and Caribbean Region, The World Bank Group 
  • Akingbolahan Adeniran, Legal and Program Director, Project Expedite Justice, and Former Attorney-General of Ogun State, Nigeria
  • Moderator: Tyler Hodgson, Regional Team Lead, Middle East, North Africa and West Africa Investigations, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group 
 MC 4-800

2. International Cooperation, and the Use of Innovative Legal Instruments to Recover the Proceeds of Mozambique’s Tuna Fleet Corruption Scandal 

This session will follow the sequence of the story of the tune boats scandal, how the Republic of Mozambique became the victim to "Tuna Bonds Scandal",  and how it decided to use civil litigation powers to win a $3.1 billion lawsuit in London's High Court against UAE shipbuilder Privinvest for allegedly paying over $200 million in bribes to, inter alia, Mozambican officials and key Credit Suisse bankers from 2013 to 2016. Two London lawyers will examine how they came to be instructed in this landmark case and how they created an intentional strategy that allowed them to refuted efforts to assert jurisdiction in other countries and to argue their case in the UK. They will provide oversight on how they prepared the case and its progress through the English High Court. This example will serve as an important reminder to many countries, also the victims of large scale and complex corruption, that there are numerous legal remedies available to allow the countries to seek redress and remedies. The panel addresses an important overarching theme of the conference in relation to international cooperation, the use of creative legal remedies and asset recovery.   

Speakers:

  • Angelo Matusse, Deputy Attorney General, Republic of Mozambique
  • Keith Oliver, Peters & Peters’ Head of International, United Kingdom
  • Sarah Gabriel, Lawyer, Peters & Peters, United Kingdom
  • Moderator: Nicola Bonucci, Former Director for Legal Affairs, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Preston Auditorium

3. Institutional Checks to Combat Corruption: The Role of Supreme Audit Institutions 

The session aims to discuss the importance of building the capacity of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) to effectively detect, prevent, and reduce corruption. This will give an opportunity to highlight the role of SAIs in providing fiscal oversight through credible and timely audit results, which contribute to transparency and accountability in government operations. The session will also emphasize the importance of SAIs establishing formal collaboration agreements with law enforcement agencies, anti-corruption bodies, and other stakeholders. This will take the discussion to address the need for SAIs to have adequate institutional and legal resources to perform their functions effectively, and highlight the challenges faced by SAIs in environments where corruption is widespread. Special attention will be given to experiences where other stakeholders in the accountability ecosystem complement, support, and accompany SAIs in their anticorruption work, highlighting the importance of partnerships in this task. 

Speakers:

  • Opening remarks: Jonas Nyrop Henriques, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark  
  • Sowmya Kidambi, Director, The Barefoot College, India  
  • Dorothy Perez, Comptroller General, Chile 
  • Tonita Gillich, General Accountability Office, USA
  • Edward Akol, Auditor General, Uganda
  • Emilio Barriga, Special Auditor, Supreme Audit Institution, Mexico
  • Moderator: Joseph Kizito, Lead Financial Management Specialist, The World Bank  
MC C2-350

4. Implementation of Beneficial Ownership Transparency Reforms: Country Experience 

Beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) is well recognized as a critical measure for combating anti-corruption. The role for beneficial ownership transparency is increasingly being understood in the context of many other development objectives, for example for enhancing domestic revenue mobilization through tax collection, increasing competition in public procurement, to name a few. With over 90-live beneficial ownership registries and the increasing international momentum in beneficial ownership reforms, many countries that don’t have existing beneficial ownership information systems are looking to introduce them, while others are aiming to upgrade systems. In this session, panelists will bring perspectives from their countries and share their experience and successes in implementing such reforms, including through financial and technical assistance from development partners and donor agencies. These include examples from countries that introduced these measures in key economic sectors such as in the extractives industry and in public procurement.    

Speakers:

  • Opening Remarks: Jens K. Kristensen, Lead Public Sector Specialist, Eastern and Southern Africa Region, The World Bank 
  • Srbuhi Galyan, Minister of Justice, Armenia  
  • Grace Malera, Office of the Ombudsman, Malawi  
  • Reida Kashta, General Director, Public Procurement Agency, Albania 
  • Michael Hegarty, Policy Adviser, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom
  • Monica Chipanta Mwansa, Deputy Director General, Anticorruption Commissions, Zambia
  • Moderator: Thom Townsend, Executive Director, Open Ownership 
MC C2-370

5. Supporting Country Commitments in Financing for Development  

According to the UN: “The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are off track. Decades of progress on poverty and hunger have stalled, and in some cases, been thrown into reverse. Many developing economies are mired in debt, with financing challenges preventing the urgently needed investment push in the SDGs. But amid these challenges there lies opportunity. The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) provides a unique opportunity to reform financing at all levels, including to support reform of the international financial architecture.  

The International Conferences on Financing for Development are the only space where leaders from all governments, along with international and regional organizations, financial and trade institutions, businesses, civil society and the UN System unite at the highest levels, fostering stronger international cooperation.” An analysis of the anticorruption related elements of the Financing for Development draft outcome document show that further inputs will be helpful to refine and strengthen the anti-corruption commitments for UN Member States, as well as international organizations and civil society. Building on previous processes, including the UN General Assembly Special Session against Corruption held in 2021 and the work done to implement the UN Convention against Corruption, speakers in this session will provide insight into their activities in support of anticorruption efforts and offer ideas on pilots or new initiatives in the Financing for Development process. 

Speakers:

  • Opening Remarks: Mats Benestad, Policy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway 
  • Kaushal Kishor Ray, Deputy Permanent Representative of Nepal, United Nations
  • Mathias Huter, Managing Director, United Nations Convention against Corruption Coalition
  • Catherine Anderson, Team Lead for Governance for Development, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
  • Emmanuel Mathias, Governance & Anticorruption, Legal Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • Moderator: Elsa Gopala Krishnan, Specialist, Stolen Assets Recovery, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime/The World Bank Group

4.00 PM - 4.30 PM
MC Front Lobby

Coffee Break

4:30 PM - 5.30 PM
Preston Auditorium and Overflow
World Cafés

5.30 PM - 6.30 PM
Preston Auditorium

Plenary 4 - Regulatory Approaches to Integrity Compliance |Watch the Replay

This session will convene regulators, prosecutors, the private sector, and other stakeholders to discuss how national and multilateral regulators implement integrity compliance matters in practice. The discussions will cover best practices, challenges, and innovative approaches to integrity compliance, as well as lessons learned across different jurisdictions. Panelists will share insights into how regulators and prosecutors are tackling complex challenges in enforcing integrity compliance standards within the private sector and in multi-jurisdictional cases. The session will also present perspectives and experiences from private sector engagement with integrity compliance regulators, along with forward-looking discussions on enhancing collaboration between regulators and the private sector in promoting integrity compliance.

Speakers: 

  • Marie Mallard, Head, Economic Actors Control Division, French Anticorruption Agency, France 
  • Hentie Dirker, Chief Officer for Environmental, Social, and Governance, and Integrity, AtkinsRéalis, Canada
  • Eduardo Diniz Longo Staino, Director of Compliance, Andrade Gutierrez Engenharia, Brazil  
  • Anele Ncube, Manager, Integrity & Prevention, Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption, African Development Bank
  • Moderator: Lisa Miller, Manager, Integrity Compliance, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group 
6.30 PM - 8.00 PM
Atrium
Networking Reception

Day 2 Agenda: Wednesday, April 9, 2025

TIME & LOCATION

SESSION DETAILS

7.30 AM - 8.15 AM
Front Lobby

Breakfast/Coffee  

8.15 AM - 8.45 AM
Preston Auditorium

Day 1 Recap and Day 2 Overview 

  • Simon Fowler, Master of Ceremonies, and the World Bank Group Rapporteurs (TBC)

8.45 AM - 9.45 AM
Preston Auditorium

Plenary 5: Role of Partnerships for Building Accountability and Integrity Ecosystems | Watch the Replay

The session aims to explore the impacts of partnerships and coalitions with governments and civil society in curbing corruption. Corruption typically involves multiple actors or networks of actors who collaborate to execute their illicit activities. Therefore, the fight against corruption necessitates a coordinated effort involving multiple authorities, as well as various private and social actors, and namely, investigative journalism. This is the only session of the forum dedicated to highlighting the importance of partnerships between governments and civil society in tackling corruption. The panelists, who have extensive experience in the field, will identify the advantages of these partnerships as well as the main challenges they face in terms of both effectiveness and durability. 

Speakers: 

  • Sanjay Pradhan, Global Ambassador, Open Government Partnerships 
  • Mark Robinson, Executive Director, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative  
  • Anabel Cruz, Founding Director, Institute for Communication and Development,
  • Joseph Asunka, CEO, Afrobarometer, Ghana 
  • Moderator: Maria Poli, Senior Specialist, Coalitions for Reform, The World Bank Group
9.45 AM - 11.00 AM Parallel Sessions 
MC C1-100

6. Multilateral Development Bank Harmonization in the Global Sanctions System–Working Together to Ensure Integrity and Accountability

There is no debate that corruption is a development problem. The diversion of funds from development projects through fraud and corruption impairs the ability of public institutions to achieve their goals and undermines the rule of law. It erodes public trust, leads to acceptance of substandard services and infrastructure, and hurts our beneficiaries. Over the course of the last few years, we have seen accountability mechanisms like the World Bank Sanctions System take center stage in ensuring public funds are used for their intended purposes. As organizations increase their lending volumes and respond to many crises in an urgent and streamlined manner, accountability must underpin everything we do. This panel session will showcase the effective partnerships multiple MDBs have formed to harmonize and improve their internal sanctions systems to ensure they are fit for purpose. It will focus on the importance of global partnerships in designing and implementing effective adjudicatory mechanisms to review allegations of sanctionable misconduct. The panelists will address challenges, lessons learned, and how they carry out their work adhering to the pillars of independence, fairness, and transparency. 

Speakers:

  • Jodi Tuer Glasow, Executive Secretary, Sanctions Board, The World Bank Group
  • Jamieson Smith, Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer, Office of Suspension and Debarment, The World Bank
  • Juan Ronderos, Sanctions Officer, Inter-American Development Bank Group 
  • Mariam Diawara, Executive Secretary, Sanctions Appeals Board, African Development Bank
  • Marie-Anne Birken, Chair, Integrity Enforcement Committee, Asian Development Bank
  • Moderator: Jelena Madir, Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Preston Auditorium

7. Corruption Risks in Procurement Systems, a Comparative Approach 

The session aims to compare tools and innovative solutions to identify corruption risks inherent in procurement systems across different countries. It will share best practices, discuss challenges, and identify strategies to mitigate these risks. The discussion will cover issues related to the regulatory and institutional capacity of procurement systems, and the risks associated, such as political interference and lack of accountability in procurement decisions. It will also address the challenges in strengthening regulatory frameworks to ensure compliance and integrity. Another focus will be on the complexity of procurement processes. The session will explore the challenges posed by these complexities and the capacity of public authorities to manage procurement processes effectively. On the topics of transparency and accountability, the session will emphasize the need for improved transparency in procurement processes and the availability of public information, particularly in open data formats. It will also highlight the role of e-Government Procurement systems in enhancing transparency and accountability. Special attention will be given to experiences where other stakeholders in the accountability ecosystem complement, support, and accompany procurement authorities in their anti-corruption work, highlighting the importance of partnerships in this task. Finally, the session will discuss the challenges in measuring and comparing procurement systems from an international perspective. It will address the difficulties in benchmarking procurement systems without a harmonized system for comparison. 

Speakers:

  • Opening Remarks: Serdar Yilmaz, Practice Manager, Public Finance and Procurement Unit, The World Bank Group
  • Mihaly Fazekas, Director, Government Transparency Institute
  • Mare Bogeva Micovska, Director, Procurement National Authority, Republic of North Macedonia
  • Letacio Guedes Junior, Secretary General, Government of Paraiba, Brazil
  • Gavin Hayman, Executive Director, Open Contracting Partnership
  • Moderator: Simon B. Chenjerani Chirwa, Procurement Practice Manager, The World Bank Group
 MC 4-800

8. Accelerating International Cooperation and Asset Recovery: Country Experiences and Lessons Learned

This session will highlight ways to improve and accelerate international cooperation and asset recovery. Engaging in informal international cooperation prior to submitting mutual legal assistance requests and using innovative tools can overcome challenges and delays. In turn, effective asset recovery can significantly contribute to the financial resources available for development projects, particularly in countries that have been adversely affected by corruption and illicit financial flows and can create a more equitable and prosperous global economy. The session will also focus on country experiences in tracing, confiscating, and negotiating the return of proceeds of corruption. It will highlight lessons learned over the past two years from the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) Action Series, a practitioner-focused process aimed at facilitating cooperation between requested and requesting countries, supported by the StAR Initiative, IACCC, and ICAR. 

Speakers:

  • Oscar Solorzano, Attorney, Head of Latin America, Basel Institute on Governance International Center for Asset Recovery (ICAR)
  • Michael Petkov, Deputy Head, International Anticorruption Coordination Centre
  • Alina Zhovnytska, Prosecutor at Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, Ukraine
  • Gilbert Phiri, Director of Public Prosecutions, Zambia
  • Moderator: Yara Esquivel, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, The World Bank Group
MC C2-370

9. Gender and Inclusive Approaches to Anticorruption

Speakers:

  • Irais Barreto, Head of the Social Participation and Shared Responsibility Unit of the Ministry of Anticorruption and Good Governance, Government of Mexico
  • Monica Kirya, Deputy Director, U4-Anticorruption Center, CHR. Michelsen Institute
  • Mariam Galstyan, Acting Chair, Corruption Prevention Commission, Armenia
  • Moderator: Ana Maria Munoz Boudet, Lead Economist, Gender Team, The World Bank Group
 MC C2-350

10. Civil Society: Partnering with Civil Society Organizations to Enhance Governance and Combat Corruption

Speakers:  

  • Tetiana Khutor, Chairwoman, Institute of Legislative Ideas, Ukraine  
  • Lora Georgieva Mateeva, Senior Legal Expert and Legal Program Coordinator, Anticorruption Foundation, Bulgaria
  • Daniëlle Goudriaan, Partner, Ivy Corporate Defence & Investigations, the Netherlands
  • Polina Lysenko, Deputy Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, Ukraine
  • Marek Svoboda, Director of Programs, The Central and Eastern European Law Initiative Institute, Czech Republic
  • Moderator: Drago Kos, Chair, Istanbul Anticorruption Action Plan, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Slovenia 
11.00 AM - 11.15 AM Coffee Break
11.15 AM - 12.30 PM
Preston Auditorium

Plenary 6: Helping Countries Fight Corruption: A Dialogue with World Bank Regional VPs | Watch the Replay

Speakers: 

  • Manuela FerroVice President, East Asia & Pacific (EAP), The World Bank Group
  • Carlos F. JaramilloVice President, Latin America & the Carribean (LAC), The World Bank Group
  • Martin RaiserVice President, South Asia Region (SAR), The World Bank Group 
  • ModeratorPablo Saavedra, Vice President, Prosperity, World Bank
12:30 PM - 1 PM

Insights and Strategies:

A dialogue with Slagjana Taseva, Dean of the International Anticorruption Academy, and Alan Bacarese, Director of Investigations, Strategy, and Operations, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group.

1:00 PM - 2.00 PM
Front Lobby
Networking Lunch

2.00 PM - 3.30  PM
Preston Auditorium

Keynote Speaker: Harnessing Technology for Transparency, Stronger Institutions, and Prosperity | Watch the replay
  • Daron Acemoglu, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics
  • Moderator: Arturo Herrera, Institutions Global Director, The World Bank Group
3.30 PM - 4.00 PM
Front Lobby
Coffee Break

4.00 PM - 5.00 PM

Parallel Sessions 

MC C1-100 

11. Investigative Journalism: Identifying Clean Promises And Dirty Links In Big Investments

This interactive, hands-on workshop will provide participants with practical insights from investigative journalists on how to uncover the links between investments and corrupt practices. Attendees will engage in a role-playing exercise, simulating real-world investigative techniques used to track illicit financial flows, identify greenwashing in climate finance or expose conflicts of interest. Beyond equipping participants with investigative tools, the workshop will also serve as an opportunity for cross-sector collaboration, fostering dialogue between journalists and stakeholders in governance, finance, and anticorruption efforts.  

Speakers:

  • Thomas Bart, Freelance Journalist, France 
  • Bruna Bronoski, Freelance Journalist, Brazil 
  • Gustavo Faleiros, Environmental Investigations Editor, Pulitzer Centre, USA 
  • Anna Koens, Impact and Outreach Manager for Earth investigations, Journalismfund Europe
  • Moderator: Alan Bacarese, Director, Integrity Vice Presidency, World Bank  
MC C1-200

12. Corruption in Fragility, Conflict, and Violence-affected contexts

This session will discuss corruption as a key factor in shaping international security, feeding conflicts, and exacerbating fragility. It will discuss the conditions under which corruption can produce fragile state structures incapable of absorbing and responding to shocks. The session will also explore how long-lasting conflict, and insecurity can turn corruption into an accepted social practice, perpetuating its existence even after the conflict subsides, and feeding grievances and conflict recurrence. The panelists will provide insights into what may work and what may not work when addressing corruption in fragile conflict and violence affected states based on their diverse experiences and with the understanding that reform options should be highly context dependent. 

Speakers:

  • Opening Remarks: Chiara Bronchi, Practice Manager, Institutions Global Department, The World Bank Group
  • Vira Mykhailenko, Chief Judge, High Anticorruption Court, Ukraine
  • Francesca Recanatini, Lead Governance Specialist, The World Bank Group
  • Alexandra Zoe, Executive Chairperson, Anticorruption Commission, Liberia
  • Josephine Pitmur, Deputy Secretary, Justice Service Administration, Department of Justice and Attorney General, Papua New Guinea
  • Moderator: Jim Anderson, Lead Governance Specialist, The World Bank Group 
MC 4-800

13. Partnering to Address Demand-Side Bribery, a Multilateral Development Bank Perspective 

This session will describe what the investigative offices of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) can do and are doing to address demand-side bribery. The discussion will be structured around three questions. This might include an anonymized example or specific experience that has shaped their institution’s approach.

Speakers:

  • Mouhamadou Diagne, Vice President, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group
  • Paula Da Costa, Director Integrity and Anti-Corruption Office (PIAC), African Development Bank
  • John Versantvoort, Head, Office of Anticorruption and Integrity, Asian Development Bank
  • Michael Bushell, Head, Investigations Division, European Investment Bank
  • Moderator: Matthew Fowler, Chief, Office of Institutional Integrity, Inter-American Development Bank
MC C2-350

14. Private Sector Initiatives for Clean Business Environment (ICO)

This session will explore various initiatives aimed at promoting transparency, ethical conduct, and business integrity within the private sector. It will highlight key frameworks, tools, and programs developed by national and international institutions to support business integrity. The discussion will also focus on how companies can leverage these resources to design and implement robust compliance programs tailored to their organizational needs. Panelists will address: (i) the common challenges businesses face in adopting clean and ethical practices, along with practical solutions to overcome these hurdles; (ii) emerging trends and issues that organizations should consider staying ahead in promoting business integrity; and (iii) the role of collective action in advancing business integrity principles.  

Speakers:

  • Hannah Ravani, Manager, Anti-Corruption and Governance Portfolio, United Nations Global Compact
  • Vanessa Hans, Head, Private Sector, Basel Institute on Governance, Switzerland 
  • Soji Apampa, Co-Founder/CEO, The Convention on Business Integrity, Nigeria
  • Phrommet Bencharongkit, Project Director, Thai Private Sector Collective Action Against Corruption, Thailand  
  • Moderator: Prince Nwankwo, Counsel, Integrity Compliance Specialist, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group  
MC C2-370

15. Selling Secrecy: Tackling the Infrastructure that Enables Corruption

This session will focus on the role of professional service providers in money laundering, corruption, and other financial crimes – corporate service providers, lawyers, accountants, wealth advisors, and others. They set up and manage shell companies, advise on tax and investment strategies, appoint nominee corporate officers, and manage funds on behalf of clients. These professionals can facilitate, unwittingly or wittingly, high-level corruption, or they can act as gatekeepers to the financial system by enforcing integrity standards. Speakers will discuss regulation of professional service providers, including the FATF Recommendations and a recent analysis of compliance conducted by global anti-money laundering standard-setter; tensions between commercial incentives and transparency rules; and explore different approaches to addressing financial crime risks among professional service providers.

Speakers:

  • Opening Remarks: Jean Phillipo-Priminta, Director General, Financial Intelligence Authority, Malawi
  • Maira Martini, Chief Executive Officer, Transparency International
  • Bruce Searby, Searby PLLC & former US Department of Justice
  • Brooke Harrington, Dartmouth College, Author of Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism
  • Ashish Kumar, Senior Policy Analyst & Advisor, Financial Action Task Force Secretariat
  • Elizabeth David-Barrett, Professor of Governance and Integrity, University of Sussex; Board Member of Transparency International UK
  • Moderator: Harald Mathisen, The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
5.00 PM - 5.15 PM
Preston Auditorium

Special remarks by Wencai Zhang, Managing Director, The World Bank | Watch the Replay

5.15 PM - 6.15 PM
Preston Auditorium

Plenary 7: Wrap-up - Collective Action for Anticorruption | Watch the Replay

  • Jean Pesme, Director, Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Department, The World bank Group
  • Roby SenderowitschPractice Manager for the Public Administration Group, Institutions Global Department, The World Bank, and all participants.
6.15 PM - 6.30 PM
Preston Auditorium
Closing: Simon Fowler, Master of Ceremonies
  DIRECTORY OF WORLD CAFÉS  
 

1A. Managing Seized and Confiscated Assets  

Speakers:

  • Lisa Bostwick, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, The World Bank Group and UN Office on Drugs and Crime  

Since 2010, close to US$10 billion in corruption proceeds have been frozen, restrained, or confiscated in a destination country, or returned to a country that was harmed by corruption. However, without effective management of the seized and confiscated assets, there may be little to show for these efforts. Although corrupt officials may have been deprived of the benefit of the stolen assets, diminished or negligible value from the disposal of confiscated stolen assets deprives society once again of the assets’ productive use. This Guide aims to provide guidance to practitioners on asset management, from pre-seizure planning to preserving value during custody to maximizing value at disposal. It is intended to provide practitioners with the foundations to build an effective asset management function and to grow the asset portfolio to manage complex assets. Accordingly, the Guide includes recommendations and good practices derived from international studies, experience from interviews with asset management experts, and case examples.   

1B. Taxing Crime: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Fighting Corruption, Money Laundering, and Tax Crimes 

Speakers:

  • Yara Esquivel,  Senior Financial Sector Specialist, The World Bank Group

This publication focuses on the benefits of interagency cooperation between tax authorities and law enforcement agencies working on preventing, detecting, and recovering the IFFs derived from tax evasion, corruption, and money laundering. Although the magnitude of IFFs is a matter of debate, their implications for economies are widely recognized. Tax evasion and corruption drain limited public resources and often hurt the most vulnerable populations by depleting the funds for much-needed services. Beyond the budget, tax evasion and corruption harm the social fabric by fueling inequality and eroding trust in public institutions and the rule of law. IFFs are then a major obstacle to resilient and inclusive development.  The similarities and interconnectedness of these crimes suggest that huge benefits would accrue from enhancing interagency cooperation and exploring synergies. A “whole-of-government” approach enables agencies to successfully detect, prosecute, and recover the proceeds of interconnected financial crimes.   

1C. Unexplained Wealth Orders: Toward a New Frontier in Asset Recovery  

Speakers:

  • Jean Pierre Brun, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, The World Bank Group

This study offers policymakers an overview of unexplained wealth order (UWO) systems as adopted by different jurisdictions attempting to recover the proceeds of corruption or organized crime. UWOs compel individuals, typically public officials, to provide information on the source of their wealth when it is inconsistent with known legitimate sources of income. The study places UWOs within the broader context of other asset recovery tools and draws lessons for countries considering the introduction of UWO-type legislation, explaining under which conditions UWO may fill a gap in national asset recovery systems. The study encourages the integration of UWO systems as part of a comprehensive whole of policies tailored to specific legal contexts.  

2. Non-Conviction Based Confiscation in the Context of Asset Recovery

Speakers:

  • Oscar Solórzano, Head of the Basel Institute’s Latin America office in Lima, Peru, and a Senior Asset Recovery Specialist at the International Centre for Asset Recovery

The International Center for Asset Recovery (ICAR) is a specialized center of the Basel Institute on Governance that collaborates with partner countries to strengthen their capacities in the recovery of illicit assets, practical mentoring on investigation methods, confiscation strategies, and international cooperation. This World Café will focus on disseminating the work of ICAR, in particular, the prosecution of international corruption through the suppression of its profits: asset recovery. More specifically, the session will focus on non-conviction-based confiscation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, how these tools have allowed to win some prominent cases, challenges and opportunities along the way. 

3. Introduction and Demonstration of Integrity Compliance Knowledge Sharing Platform

The publicly available Integrity Compliance Knowledge Sharing Platform was developed by the World Bank Group (WBG) Integrity Vice Presidency under a Korea-World Bank Partnership Facility grant. Target beneficiary groups include private-sector entities, with a focus on small- and medium-size enterprises, as well as project implementation units, contracted support (e.g., procurement agents), and WBG member country agencies. Through its tailored eLearning courses, guidance tools, networking hub, and resource library, the Platform aims to enhance integrity compliance among beneficiaries, with the developmental goal of reducing fraud and corruption risks in WBG-financed projects. The Platform seeks to facilitate the assessment of fraud and corruption risks and support efforts to enhance integrity compliance among entities seeking to participate in WBG-financed projects, as well as others. The Platform is further intended to support risk mitigation efforts related to WBG investment lending operations through its awareness-raising efforts.

Speakers:

Jihoon Cho, Integrity Compliance Analyst, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group

Joseph Mauro, Integrity Compliance Analyst, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group

New Doe Kaledzi, Consultant, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group

4. Emerging Technologies Combatting Corruption  

Speakers:

  • Cheri-Leigh Erasmus, Co-CEO, Accountability Lab

  • Shally Baloch, Partnerships Officer, Accountability Lab

Accountability Lab will showcase emerging anti-corruption technologies developed by global HackCorruption participants. This session will demonstrate how innovative problem-solving and technological ingenuity can transform anti-corruption efforts, engaging communities to foster greater accountability and institutional trust. Participants will explore four civic tech solutions that enhance transparency, employ novel approaches, or strengthen participation across Latin America, South Asia, and South East Asia. The discussion will offer practical insights for implementing similar technologies in various contexts, highlighting replicable features that can be adapted to different environments. Beyond knowledge sharing, this will create valuable opportunities for collaboration between featured innovators and participants working on transparency initiatives, fostering a global community dedicated to fighting corruption through technological innovation.  

5. Haystack: Responsible AI Leadership Consortium

Speakers:

  • Hari Mulukutla, Founder, Responsible AI Leadership Consortium
  • Ramakrishna Evani, CEO, 8th Element

Governments worldwide face persistent challenges in combating corruption, financial fraud, and illicit financial flows. Ministries and agencies struggle to process and analyze vast amounts of data efficiently, leading to inefficiencies in procurement, enforcement, and financial oversight. Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), anti-corruption agencies, and central banks receive millions of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) yearly, yet many go unexamined due to resource constraints. Institutions such as the World Bank, UN, WTO, and FATF collect extensive data on illicit financial flows, but governments lack the AI-driven tools to analyze and leverage this information effectively. Haystack will develop a framework for small efficient, low latency LLMs and AI models for government ministries and law enforcement in countries with historic governance and corruption challenges. This will allow officials to analyze vast datasets and detect corruption patterns. These fine-tuned and pre-trained LLMs can integrate institutional knowledge with global data sources to provide real-time insights. By partnering with international organizations, these models can be trained on critical topics such as financial fraud, procurement risks, and enforcement strategies. Deploying AI-driven models within government cloud infrastructures allows officials across key agencies—procurement offices, inspector generals, prosecutors, investigators, FIUs, and central banks—to access intelligence on-demand, strengthening governance and compliance efforts.

 6. Concept for Integrity Vice Presidency’s AI Agent and Agentic Framework 

Speakers:

  • Krishna Kesari, Data Scientist and Team Lead, Integrity Vice Presidency Data Lab, The World Bank Group

  • Pooja Chandrasekara, AI Engineer, INT Data Lab, Integrity Vice Presidency Data Lab, The World Bank Group

INT’s Data Lab has developed an AI Agent tailored for investigative and analytical work. The agent leverages advanced AI models to streamline document review processes and generate document drafts using INT-specific content and guidelines, ensuring outputs align with organizational standards while maintaining quality and consistency. INT’s AI framework incorporates document analysis capabilities, enabling efficient processing of large document volumes while extracting key information and identifying relevant patterns. The system also features multilingual translation to facilitate communication with stakeholders. Throughout development and implementation, emphasis has been placed on responsible AI practices based on INT’s emerging governance frameworks designed to ensure trustworthy AI practices that include human-in-the-loop validation by end users. This initiative is a milestone in INT's digital transformation journey and demonstrates its commitment to leveraging technology for greater efficiency and impact.  

7. BridgeGap: Bridging the Gaps in Evidence, Regulation and Impact of Anticorruption Policies

Speakers:

  • Francesco Mureddu, Vice President for Development and Senior Researcher, The Lisbon Council

BridgeGap treats corruption as a policy problem and focuses on understanding both the domestic vulnerabilities and the cross-border factors that undermine the control of corruption. This Horizon Europe funded interdisciplinary research project provides access to objective data, analytical tools, online training and policy recommendations. BridgeGap aims to fill knowledge gaps in corruption's impact on open societies, address digital transparency gaps in public accountability and integrity, find solutions to regulatory and enforcement gaps in the EU and neighbouring countries, and bridge the gap between academia and policy. BridgeGap provides access to a wealth of data repositories and analytical tools, such as the Follow-the-Money search engine tracing financial flows, unmasking hidden networks, and analysing webs of influence. Powered by the BridgeGap Ukrainian partner YouControl, it uses 336 global data sources, covering 92 million companies and 86 million individuals. Follow us: www.corruptiondata.eu and access the DataHub www.datahub.corruptiondata.eu/

8. Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) Research Programme

Speakers:

  • Elizabeth David-Barrett, Professor of Governance and Integrity, Director of the Centre for the study of Corruption, University of Sussex

  • Mihaly Fazekas, Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Researcher, University of Sussex

  • David Szakonyi, Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Researcher, University of Sussex

Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) is a global research program generating actionable, context-sensitive evidence to tackle corruption and support more effective policy and institutional reform. Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and based at the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, GI ACE brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to examine how corruption operates across systems, sectors, and governance levels. The program has supported 34 projects across a range of themes, including illicit financial flows, state capture, procurement risks, integrity systems, and cross-border trade. GI ACE prioritises engagement and collaboration to ensure that research informs real-world anti-corruption strategies. By addressing the political, social, and economic drivers of corruption, the program contributes to a more evidence-based, targeted approach to reform that is both locally grounded and globally relevant.

9. U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre 

Speakers:

  • Rosa Revilla, Senior Adviser, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre

For the past twenty years, the U4 Anti-corruption Resource Centre (U4) has studied how corruption threatens development. Together with global research networks and practitioners, we pursue emerging topics and advance the anti-corruption field. In this World Café session, we will present a small selection of our work, focusing on the financing for development agenda, anti-corruption efforts for reconstruction in Ukraine, countering illicit financial flows, and the intersections of gender and corruption. 

10. Industry Alliances to Tackle Corruption  

Speakers:

  • Mark Robinson, Executive Director, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Norway 

  • Olusoji Apampa, Co-Founder/CEO, The Convention on Business Integrity, and Nigerian partner of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network

Industry alliances have become vital in the fight against corruption, leveraging collective action to promote transparency and accountability. Initiatives like integrity compacts and industry alliances have set benchmarks for ethical behavior. This World Café session will discuss the work of two industry alliances against corruption –Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network – in promoting integrity and ethical conduct in their respective industries. The session will enrich the conference by illustrating how industry alliances foster transparency and help to combat corruption. 

11. International Organizations: Partners in Fighting Corruption

Speakers:

  • Steve Zimmermann, Director, Office of Internal Audit and Investigations, UNICEF

  •  
  • Martha Monterrosa, Anti-Corruption/Legal Analyst, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

  • Marco Cerletti, Principal Integrity Specialist, Head of Investigations, Inter-American Development Bank

In addition to national authorities, the international anti-corruption ecosystem is home to a wide array of international actors and networks. As a result, national authorities may be unaware of some of the international organizations with whom they could work on specific cases. In this session, attendees will be introduced to the investigative functions of a selection of Multilateral Development Banks and UN Agencies, as well as some of the anti-corruption law enforcement networks hosted by international organizations. As part of the World Café, this session will emphasize interaction and informal connection, as a foundation for future cooperation. 

12. Building Bridges: The Role of Civil Society in Supporting Law Enforcement Through Strategic Legal Casework   

Speakers:

  • Kush Amin, Legal Specialist, Transparency International

  • Adam Foldes, Legal Advisor, Transparency International

Cross-border cases of grand corruption cause very serious harm to entire countries, communities and individuals. Perpetrators are too often not pursued by relevant authorities and victims are left with no remedy for the harm they suffer. Authorities may lack the resources to tackle such complex cross-border cases and national criminal policy is focused elsewhere. Some authorities may also be unwilling to investigate and prosecute influential decision-makers in their countries or abroad despite the existence of laws that give them the power to do so. It is therefore important to explore the variety of legal and regulatory mechanisms available in different countries on cross-border corruption cases. Transparency International works with various journalist and civil society partners who investigate such cases in order to take their findings and highlight them to law enforcement around the world to ensure that more perpetrators face consequences and corruption victims are remedied.  

13. Youth Innovations for Anticorruption Pitch Workshop  

Speakers:

  • Khadijah Chang, Senior Program Officer, Accountability Lab

  • Inesa Sargsyan, Student, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)

  • Andrew K Horton, Student, American University School of International Service 

  • Yilin Ruan, Student, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)

  • Idah Knowles, Student, American University School of International Service 

Partnering with the World Bank and Open Government Partnership (OGP), Accountability Lab will bring five students or young professionals to pitch their anti-corruption ideas and solution sin either of the two categories: I. Youth and Creative Solutions to Anticorruption: Proposing innovative ideas or youth-led approaches to combat corruption. These may be local, regional, or global in scope and can originate from another country. II. Skills and Knowledge for Youth Leadership in Anticorruption: Identifying the tools, skills, and knowledge young people need to lead the next generation of anti-corruption efforts. We will encourage participants to pitch creative ideas, innovative approaches, and the skills and knowledge young people need to lead the next generation of anticorruption work. Each participant will have 5 minutes to pitch. Time will be allocated for questions/feedback from the audience. The results of the session will also inform how Accountability Lab and OGP can better support youth participation/leadership in anticorruption reforms going forward.  

14. Proactive Investigations 

Speakers:

  • Bert Denolf, Team Lead, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group 

  • David Hawkes, Manager, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group 

As part of its strategy, INT is supplementing current "reactive" approaches that are mainly driven by complaints with additional proactive risk analysis and intelligence-driven approaches. This session will cover the concept of proactive investigations, the rationale for undertaking proactive investigations, and various proactive case development methodologies. 

15. U.S. Government Accountability Office – Resources for Managing Corruption and Fraud Risks 

Speakers:

  • Irina Carnevale, Assistant Director, Forensic Audits and Investigative Service, U.S. Government Accountability Office

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the supreme audit institution for the United States. Often called the "congressional watchdog,” GAO is an independent agency that provides Congress, the heads of executive agencies, and the public with timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can be used to improve government and save taxpayer funds. GAO also sets auditing standards for federal and state auditors as well as develops best practices for federal managers. In 2015, GAO issued A Framework for Managing Fraud Risks in Federal Programs, to help federal managers strategically manage fraud and corruption risks in federal programs. Adhering to the Framework is required by law and executive guidance. To support federal managers’ efforts, GAO also developed online Antifraud Resource, which explains how fraud works and provides fraud case information and other free resources. 

16. OECD Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT): Corruption Risk Management in Practice, Learning from Development Experience  

Speakers:

  • Catherine Anderson, Team Lead, Governance and Anti-Corruption, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT)

This exchange aims to explore what it means to take an informed risk-based approach to corruption risk management in development cooperation including, for example, by identifying pragmatic approaches towards ‘zero-tolerance for corruption’, catalyzing corruption risk management throughout the project or program cycle, sharing risk with partners and better understanding the environment of operation. The purpose of this work is to provide practical guidance to development cooperation actors on effective strategies for managing corruption risks while maximizing development impacts. The ACTT’s work aims to equip development providers with useful tools to balance accountability with impact to shape development cooperation policies and practices to more agile, responsible and effective development cooperation​; and to address corruption as a fundamental development obstacle, affecting entire sectors and countries’ capacity to mobilise resources.

17. Establishing the International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC) 

Speakers:

  • Rebecca Shoot, Executive Director, Citizens for Global Solutions

  • Carly Kabot, Student, Georgetown University

Grand corruption undermines democracy, human rights, and sustainable development. When national authorities are unwilling or unable to prosecute corrupt public officials, stolen assets remain hidden, and impunity prevails. Integrity Initiatives International is working to establish the International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC)—a global institution designed to prosecute high-level corruption cases, dismantle illicit financial networks, and recover stolen assets. The IACC would complement national anti-corruption efforts by stepping in when justice systems are unwilling or unable to act. Through coalition-building, treaty development, diplomatic engagement, and advocacy, Integrity Initiatives International and its European partner are leading the movement to create a fair and effective legal mechanism to hold corrupt leaders accountable. Join us to discuss how this initiative can reshape the fight against grand corruption worldwide.   

18. Red Flags in Public Procurement: Use Cases for Open Contracting Data in Government and Civil Society 

Speakers:

  • Georg Neumann, Head of Communications, Open Contracting Partnership

Public procurement is where the money, power and the discretion in government are concentrated. Making up 1 in every 3 dollars spent by governments worldwide for a total value of over US $13 trillion, the sums spent on procurement are enormous and make it government’s number one corruption risk. Public contracts touch every part of our lives – from roadworks to school meals to critical medicines. It is where citizens see governments deliver on promises of sustainable development or fall short of their expectations, damaging trust in the fairness and effectiveness of government. Corruption risk indicators can help governments prevent corruption in public spending before it occurs.  In this session, Open Contracting Partnership will introduce how to use public procurement data to calculate corruption risk indicators, explore what data is most useful to calculate red flags and provide a step-by-step guide on implementing them in practice. We will share best practice examples from the open contracting community, including from Indonesia and the Dominican Republic.   

19. Promoting transparency in sustainable infrastructure procurement  

Speakers:

  • John Hawkins, Programme Director, Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST)

  • Evelyn Hernandez, Head of Members and Affiliates, Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST)

Sustainable infrastructure is critical to delivering economic development and public services whilst facilitating the transition to a low carbon future. However, the IMF estimates that 10 to 30 per cent of infrastructure investment is lost through corruption, mismanagement and inefficiency.  With support from the World Bank Global Procurement Partnership Multi-Donor Trust Fund, CoST the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative has carried out a study that identified the data that stakeholders from government, the private sector and civil society require to assess the procurement and integrity of sustainable infrastructure. CoST co-developed the OC4IDS with the Open Contracting Partnership to provide a framework for publishing open and accessible data at each stage of an infrastructure investment. The findings from the study were used to develop new OC4IDS data points structured into four modules (economic and financial, environmental and climate, institutional and social) providing publishers and data users a flexible tool to assess sustainable infrastructure. 

20. Connecting Public Procurement and Beneficial Ownership Data for Anticorruption and Beyond 

Speakers:

  • Paul Maassen, Chief, Global Programs, Open Government Partnership

  • Kathryn Frauscher, Deputy Executive Director, Open Contracting Partnership

  • Thom Townsend, Executive Director, Open Ownership

Since its founding in September 2011, Open Government Partnership members have made over 800 individual commitments to pursue various areas of anticorruption reforms - almost half of which are centered around public procurement and beneficial ownership transparency. OGP members have worked closely with both Open Contracting Partnership and Open Ownership in implementing these commitments. Together OO, OCP, and OGP have consistently urged reformers to connect the dots between procurement and beneficial ownership data, to achieve anticorruption objectives such as identifying conflicts of interest, risk management, enabling CSO/public participation in monitoring, as well as to help deliver on other objectives such as AML/CFT or economic inclusion. This World Cafe session will therefore spotlight examples from the OGP community and highlight the key factors of success including building a multistakeholder team, a focus on goals & digital solutions driven by standardized open data (such as the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard and the Open Contracting Data Standard). This will encourage participants to be strategic and have data interoperability and interconnectedness in mind as they pursue reform in these two key anticorruption reform areas.  

21. Climate Working Group of the Integrity Vice Presidency of the World Bank Group

Speakers:

  • Vedran Aladrovic, Senior Program Officer, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group

  • Wolfgang Koehling Senior Operations Officer, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group

  • Doa Biddine, Integrity Vice Presidency, Law Clinic Fellow,  Sciences Po–Graduate Student in Economic Law and Global Governance Studies

  • Valentine Farin, Integrity Vice Presidency, Law Clinic Fellow, Sciences Po – Graduate Student in International Development

The INT Working Group on Climate Finance is dedicated to upholding integrity within the World Bank Group’s climate-related funding. Throughout the year, we have focused on several key workstreams, including (i) identifying climate-centric actions and establishing an ongoing tracker using a keyword system based on the World Bank Group’s Scorecard, (ii) exploring typologies of corruption and related misconduct in climate projects, (iii) revisiting restitution as a sanction within several other cross-cutting themes, (iv) analyzing integrity risks in World Bank Group’s carbon finance initiatives, and (v) examining new financing mechanisms for climate related initiatives in the World Bank Group. Your engagement and expertise are essential in furthering the efforts of the INT Working Group on Climate Finance.  

22. Integrity in Climate Finance & Action: Knowledge Report of the 2nd Symposium on Responses to Corruption 

Speakers:

  • Alexandra Manea, Senior Counsel, Office of Suspension and Debarment, The World Bank Group

  • Felipe Rocha dos Santos, Senior Counsel, Sanctions Board, The World Bank Group

Building on the outcomes of the 1st Symposium on Supranational Responses to Corruption, the 2nd Symposium: Integrity in Climate Finance & Action explored the potential of supranational integrity mechanisms to become an important tool for swiftly and efficiently managing integrity risks associated with climate finance. It emphasized the need for collaboration between integrity and climate experts to address these risks. The resulting Knowledge Report highlights the importance of intergovernmental organizations/MDBs, international aid agencies, private donors, and corporations in ensuring accountability in climate finance. It communicates why it is relevant to study and address integrity in the specific context of climate finance, and why partnerships are needed for a creative, efficient, and coordinated evolution of integrity and anti-corruption policies in the climate domain. The report offers a roadmap for a high-integrity climate financing system that meets the urgent climate crisis while upholding accountability. The symposia series will continue in 2026 with the 3rd symposium, inviting institutions to partner. 

23. Government Budget Execution Controls and Corruption Perception: A PEFA Cross-Country Analysis 

Speakers:

  • Prof. Mehmet Serkan Tosun, PhD, Director, University of Nevada
  • Srinivas Gurazada, Head, PEFA Secretariat, The World Bank Group  
  • Victor Bonsu, Sr Governance Specialist, PEFA Secretariat, The World Bank Group 
  • Ashikur Rahman, PFM Data Expert, PEFA Secretariat, The World Bank Group 
  • Aminata Sulaiman Mansaray, Voice Secondee, PEFA Secretariat, The World Bank Group 
  • Zeynep Baykal, Student, University of Maryland 

The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) program, housed in the World Bank, is a collaboration among eight international development partners (European Commission, IMF, World Bank, France, Norway, Switzerland, Slovak Republic, and Luxembourg). The PEFA framework, used in over 156 countries, is the gold standard for assessing public financial management (PFM). PEFA has become a global PFM knowledge hub, with many assessments available on www.pefa.org. In collaboration with the University of Nevada, PEFA Secretariat conducted quantitative research into the link between government budget execution and corruption perception. The study found a strong correlation between effective budget execution and lower perceived corruption levels, highlighting the importance of robust budget mechanisms in reducing corruption risks. The World Café session explores the relationship between government budgets and corruption perception, offering insights from both research and practitioners' experiences.

24. Who Controls the Judiciary? The Role of the Justice System in Combatting Corruption 

Speakers:

  • Erica Bosio, Program Manager, Global Program on Justice and the Rule of Law, The World Bank Group 
  • Virginia Upegui Caro, Analyst, Global Program on Justice and the Rule of Law, The World Bank Group

The Judiciary plays a central role in maintaining rule-based governance and combating corruption, ensuring that no one is above the law. But who controls the Judiciary? This session will discuss innovative research on judicial selection methods for the highest courts in 205 countries and territories, exploring who decides who sits on the bench and how this impacts judicial independence and the rule of law. While most countries vest the authority to appoint the judges of the highest court in a single branch of government, a smaller number involve two or three branches in the process. Initial analysis suggests that engaging at least two branches of government in judicial selection tends to yield more favorable outcomes for judicial independence and the rule of law. This research is conducted within the World Bank’s Global Program on Justice and the Rule of Law, which harnesses data, global knowledge, and innovation to drive effective and evidence-based justice reform. 

  •  
Daron Acemoglu

Daron Acemoglu

Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics

Daron Acemoglu is an Institute Professor at MIT, Faculty Co-Director of MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work Initiative, and a Research Affiliate at MIT's newly established Blueprint Labs. He was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2024 (with Co-Laureates Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson).

He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, American Philosophical Society, the British Academy of Sciences, the Turkish Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, the European Economic Association, and the Society of Labor Economists. He is also a member of the Group of Thirty. He is the author of six books, including New York Times bestseller Why Nations Fail: Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (joint with James A. Robinson), Introduction to Modern Economic GrowthThe Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty (with James A. Robinson), and Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (with Simon Johnson). His academic work covers a wide range of areas, including political economy, economic development, economic growth, technological change, inequality, labor economics and economics of networks.

Daron Acemoglu has received the inaugural T. W. Shultz Prize from the University of Chicago in 2004, and the inaugural Sherwin Rosen Award for outstanding contribution to labor economics in 2004, Distinguished Science Award from the Turkish Sciences Association in 2006, the John von Neumann Award, Rajk College, Budapest in 2007, the Carnegie Fellowship in 2017, the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize in 2018, the Global Economy Prize in 2019, and the CME Mathematical and Statistical Research Institute prize in 2021. He was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal in 2005, the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in 2012, and the 2016 BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award.

He holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of Utrecht, the Bosporus University, University of Athens, Bilkent University, the University of Bath, Ecole Normale Superieure, Saclay Paris, and the London Business School.

AC4D Global Forum Speaker

Arturo Herrera

Institutions Global Director, The World Bank

Arturo Herrera is the Global Director for Institutions in the Prosperity vertical of the World Bank. Herrera joined the World Bank in 2010 as Senior Public Sector Management Specialist in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. He held various positions in the Bank including as Sector Manager in LAC, Practice Manager in Governance Global Practice for the LAC and East Asia and the Pacific regions in the Global Unit before leaving the World Bank Group in 2018.

Between 2018 and 2021 he has held leadership positions in the Government of Mexico as Co-Head of the Finance Team in Presidential Transition Team, Deputy Finance Minister and, most recently, as Minister of Finance and Public Credit.

As Global Director for Governance, Herrera’s priorities include leading the formulation of strategy and engagement of the Bank’s work on public institutions and country-level governance, especially in fragile, conflict and violent settings; maximizing the effectiveness of operational support for public financial management and public procurement; fostering excellence in the Governance Practice’s work on public sector administration and operational support for legal and judicial reforms. Mr. Herrera has also taught Monetary and Banking and Macro and Microeconomics at both El Colegio de Mexico and New York University where he completed his doctoral studies in Economics.

Mouhamadou Diagne

Mouhamadou Diagne

Vice President of Integrity

Mouhamadou Diagne is the Vice President of Integrity (INT) at the World Bank Group.

In this role since September 2020, Diagne oversees the independent unit responsible for conducting investigations of fraud and corruption allegations involving projects and activities financed by the World Bank Group and World Bank Group staff and corporate vendors; pursuing and litigating sanctions for credible allegations; introducing best practices in preventing fraud and corruption into World Bank Group operations; and helping to raise compliance standards among private sector entities.

Diagne has nearly 25 years of experience managing teams in the fight against fraud and corruption. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Inspector General of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, one of the world’s largest international health financing mechanisms. In this capacity, Diagne led both the Investigations and the Audit functions of the organization and oversaw investigations of alleged fraud, corruption, misappropriation, and other forms of abuse in Global Fund financed programs as well as in corporate operations.

Before joining the Global Fund, he was the Director of Strategy and Operations for Internal Audit at the World Bank Group, where he led the strategic shift from compliance-audits to more strategic risk-based audits. Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Diagne was the Director of Internal Audit at Fannie Mae, one of the largest financial institutions in the US 

AC4D Global Forum Speaker

Axel van Trotsenburg

Senior Managing Director for Development & Policy, The World Bank

Axel van Trotsenburg is the World Bank’s Senior Managing Director (SMD), responsible for Development Policy and Partnerships.

Axel directs the World Bank’s core development work captured by the Verticals – People, Planet, Prosperity, Infrastructure and Digital – and ensures its integration into operations, with a special focus on climate change, fragility, human capital, and debt sustainability.

He oversees the Bank’s partnerships including with the UN, international financial institutions, and bilateral partners, and co-chairs the replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA). He represents the Bank in the G7 and G20 meetings and leads the Bank’s climate engagement in the context of the annual COP convenings.

Previously, Axel was the Managing Director of Operations for 3.5 years, overseeing global operations and managing a $70 billion/year financial support program. During the COVID-19 crisis, he managed a $225 billion increase in financial assistance. He has also served as Acting World Bank CFO and CEO.

As Vice President for Development Finance, Axel led the IDA16 and IDA18 cycles, mobilizing $293 billion. He co-led efforts for a capital increase, resulting in a $60 billion boost for IBRD. Axel has held various regional leadership roles, including Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, and East Asia and Pacific.

Delia Ferreira

Delia Ferreira

Former Chair, Transparency International (TI)

Delia Ferreira Rubio is a lawyer and Former Chair of Transparency International.

She earned her law degree from Córdoba National University in Argentina and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Ph.D. in Law from Complutense University of Madrid in Spain. She is a Member of the Global Future Council on Good Governance of the World Economic Forum and a Member of the Advisory Council of the Institute for Ethics and Transparency of the AmCham Argentina.

She served as the Chair of Transparency International (2017-2023); as a Member of the Steering Committee of OGP - Open Government Partnership (2018-2021), as Co-chair of the Global Future Council on Anti-corruption of the World Economic Forum (2019-2022), and as a member of the Board of the UN Global Compact (2020-2023).

She works as an independent consultant, and has authored numerous publications on Transparency and Anti-corruption, Political Corruption, Private sector integrity, Public Ethics and Comparative Politics, among other subjects. 

 Richelieu Lomax

Richelieu Edwin Lomax

Regional Team Leader, Africa East & South Investigations, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group

Richelieu Edwin Lomax is the Regional Team Leader for the Africa East & South Investigation Team of the Integrity Vice Presidency at the World Bank Group. An attorney from Liberia, he earned a Bachelor of Laws in 2005 from the University of Jos, Nigeria, focusing on “The Concept of Failed States and the Increasing Role of the United Nations in a New World Order: The Case of Liberia.” Upon his return to Liberia, he worked at Henries Law Firm, and as an Administrative Officer for the UK-based NGO Medical Emergency Relief.

Lomax joined the Legal and Judicial System Division of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, contributing to justice sector reform. In 2007, he enrolled in Harvard Law School’s Master of Laws Program as a Stoffel Human Rights Fellow, focusing on International Law and Human Rights. After obtaining his LL.M, Lomax joined the World Bank Group's Integrity Vice Presidency. He worked with the Special Litigation Unit, and served as Regional Team Leader for the East Asia and Pacific Investigation Team of the Integrity Vice Presidency. His interests include Governance, Anti-Corruption, Human Rights, and Rule of Law issues.

Yemi Osinbajo

Professor Yemi Osinbajo

SAN, GCON (Immediate Past Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria)

Professor Yemi Osinbajo served as Vice President of Nigeria from May 2015 to May 2023. He was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, leading significant judicial reforms. Before his political career, he was a Professor of Public Law at the University of Lagos and a founding partner of SimmonsCooper, a commercial law firm. He earned the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria and served in the UN mission in Somalia and on the UN Secretary-General’s committee on Rules of Conduct for Peacekeeping forces. He was Ethics advisor to the AFDB board and an independent director of CITIBANK Nigeria.

In public service, Professor Osinbajo played key roles in economic reform, social investments, human capital development, digital economy, climate action, and energy security. He chaired the National Economic Council and the Inter-Ministerial Energy Transition Implementation Working Group, responsible for Nigeria's Energy Transition Plan in 2022. He led the implementation of Nigeria's Economic Sustainability Plan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Post-tenure, he advocates for global climate action. In 2023, he became the first Global Advisor to the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and Board Chair of the Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A). He founded the North East Children’s Trust, co-founded Future Perspectives, and founded Climate Positive. He serves on the Board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and as Guardian of the UNDP-led Africa Innovation Foundation (timbuktoo).

Diana Salazar

Diana Salazar Mendez

Attorney General, State Attorney General Office, Ecuador

Diana Salazar Mendez, is the current Attorney General of Ecuador. She holds a degree in Political and Social Sciences from the Central University of Ecuador. She is a Doctor in Jurisprudence, Political and Social Sciences, and a lawyer of the Courts of the Republic. She earned a Master's Degree in Procedural Law with a Criminal mention from the Technological University Indoamerica and specialized in Human Rights from the Simón Bolívar Andean University in Ecuador, and Economic Criminal Law and Criminality from the Castilla La Mancha University in Spain.

Her career began in 2001 at the Attorney General's Office in Ecuador, working in areas such as transnational organized crime, gender violence, money laundering, transparency, and anti-corruption. In 2018, she became the general director of the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit, and in April 2019, she was sworn in as General Prosecutor of the State. In November 2019, she was appointed arbitrator of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (Netherlands).

In 2021, she received the "International Anticorruption Champions Award" from the U.S. Department of State, and in 2024, the Wilson Award for Public Service from the Wilson Center. TIME 100 recognized her as one of the most influential people for her impact on the fight against organized crime in Ecuador.

She has published many technical articles and chaired/participated in events on criminal matters organized by the United Nations, the Organization of American States, Mercosur, the University of Granada, the Falcone Borsellino Program, and the World Bank.

Amara Konneh

Amara M. Konneh

Senator of the Republic of Liberia

Senator Amara Konneh represents Gbarpolu County in Liberia's Senate, chairing the Public Accounts and Audit Committee and serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee. He began his career at the Vanguard Group of Investment Companies in 1999 and worked with the International Rescue Committee in Guinea.

Senator Konneh holds a master's degree in public administration from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, a master's degree from Pennsylvania State University, and a bachelor's degree from Drexel University. He served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Communications under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and later as Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs, where he led the Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee.

In 2012, he became Liberia's Minister of Finance, known for combating corruption and championing the Open Budget Initiative. He was appointed Liberia's first Minister of Finance and Development Planning in 2014, stabilizing the economy during the Ebola outbreak.

In 2016, Senator Konneh joined the World Bank Group, leading the Global Hub for Fragility, Conflict, Violence, and Forced Displacement in Nairobi. He received Harvard's 2016 Alumni Public Service Award and was named Africa's Finance Minister of the Year 2014 by The Banker magazine. He has initiated discussions with the World Bank to support his anti-corruption agenda in Liberia.

Ashish Kumar

Ashish Kumar

Policy Specialist, Financial Action Task Force Secretariat 

Ashish Kumar is the Senior Policy Analyst & Advisor with the FATF, based in Paris. He has been with the FATF for the last 10 years and has steered policy work in several areas, including beneficial ownership and transparency, risk-based approach guidance for the professions, cross-border payment transparency, anti-corruption, non-profit organizations, and financial inclusion. 

In his current role as the head of the Evaluations and Compliance Group (ECG) support team, Ashish is steering and providing support to the mutual evaluations and the follow up program of FATF members. He is also leading the global quality and consistency review of all mutual evaluation reports across the global network.

In his previous life, Ashish was a financial supervisor in Mumbai, India, where he worked for almost 16 years.

Musa Adamu Aliyu

Musa Adamu Aliyu

Chair, Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission, Nigeria 

Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu was appointed by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, as the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on 17th October 2023. 

Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, holds a LL.B., BL., LL.M., and a PhD in Law. He was conferred the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by the Chief Justice of the Federation, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON, on 12th October 2023 for his significant contributions to the field of law.

Dr. Aliyu served as the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Jigawa State between 2019 and 2023. He held various positions within the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Kano Branch. He has authored publications in reputable local and international journals and participated in numerous conferences globally.

He has been an advocate and practitioner of prevention as the catalyst to diminish corruption. Dr. Aliyu recently secured Nigeria's re-election into the Steering Committee of the Global Operational Network of the Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network).

Carlos Melgar

Carlos Melgar

Deputy Minister, Ministry of Public Finance, Guatemala

Carlos Melgar has served as Vice Minister of Fiscal Transparency and State Procurement at the Ministry of Public Finance of Guatemala since January 2024.

He graduated as a lawyer from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC).

He worked for 10 years at the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI), serving as coordinator of the Fiscal Transparency area and legal researcher in the Political Action area. During this period, he conducted studies and research on fiscal transparency, combating corruption, political economy, citizen participation in fiscal matters, and compliance with fiscal transparency commitments in open government plans, among others.

Within the public sector, he served for four years as Deputy Director of Access to Information in the Fiscal Transparency Directorate of the Ministry of Public Finance. He provided advisory and consulting services on access to information, transparency, and anti-corruption matters for the Vice Presidency of the Republic and the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT).

He has served as a technical consultant for Citizen Action (the Guatemalan chapter of Transparency International), the Transparency and Integrity Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Plan International, and the Center for Mayan Culture. He has taught graduate-level courses at Rafael Landívar University (URL). He has also taught fiscal transparency courses at InterNaciones University.

Yira Mascaro

Yira Mascaró

Practice Manager, Finance Competitiveness and Innovation, Latin America and the Caribbean, The World Bank Group

Yira Mascaró is a World Bank Practice Manager for the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. From 2016- end 2020, she was the manager of the global team leading on financial stability and integrity, which engages with standard setters and the IMF. She works with policymakers and partners (e.g., IMF, IADB) to help countries build stable, efficient, and inclusive financial systems and a stronger private sector that can leverage economic growth and job creation. She is a macrofinancial economist with experience across LAC, Africa, and Europe and Central Asia. Yira received her Ph.D. and Masters’ degrees from the Ohio State University, focusing on economics, development economics and the role of the financial sector, and got her Licenciate degree in economics from the PUCMM in the Dominican Republic, her home country, focusing on international trade

AC4D Global Forum Speaker

Francesca Recanatini

Lead Economist

Francesca Recanatini is a Lead Economist at the World Bank and has worked on institution building and anticorruption for more than two decades. She joined the World Bank in 1998 and focused on integrating issues of governance and anticorruption in development using data and stakeholder participation. She worked in several countries in Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Middle East supporting the design and implementation of governance reforms through data collection, coalition building and multisector engagement. Currently she works on public sector reforms and multistakeholder anticorruption initiatives in Latin America, Middle East and Africa.  Her ongoing research interests focus on corruption measures, institutions of accountability, state capture and fragility, and sextortion.  

She has published several papers on anticorruption and governance reforms, co-authoring the Building for Peace in MENA Report (World Bank, 2020), contributing to the Report on Enhancing Government Effectiveness and Transparency (World Bank, 2020); the Oxford Handbook on Quality of Government (Marcia Grimes and Bo Rothstein, eds. 2020), Anticorruption Policy: Can International Actors Play a Role? (Susan Rose-Ackerman and Paul Carrington, eds. 2013); the Global Handbook on Research and Practice in Corruption (Adam Graycar, editor, 2012); and the International Handbook on the Economics of Corruption (Susan Rose-Akerman and Tina Soreide, eds. 2011).  She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park.

 Jodi Vittori

Jodi Vittori

Professor of Practice, Georgetown University, United States

Jodi Vittori is an expert on the linkages of corruption, state fragility, illicit finance, and US national security. She is a Professor of Practice and co-chair of the Global Politics and Security program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She is an associate fellow with RUSI’s Centre for Finance and Security and was previously a non-resident fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

Before joining the Georgetown University faculty, she was the US Research and Policy Manager for Transparency International’s Defense and Security Program and a senior policy advisor for Global Witness. Jodi also served in the U.S. Air Force; her overseas service included Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, and she was assigned to NATO’s only counter-corruption task force. She was an Assistant Professor and military faculty at the US Air Force Academy and the National Defense University. 

She is also a founder and co-moderator of the Anti-Corruption Advocacy Network (ACAN) which facilitates information exchange on corruption-related issues amongst over 1000 participating individuals and organizations worldwide. She is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and received her PhD in International Studies from the University of Denver.

Luis Felipe Lopez Calva

Luis Felipe López-Calva

Director, Poverty Global Department, The World Bank Group

Luis Felipe López-Calva is the Director of the Poverty Global Department in the Prosperity Vertical at the World Bank. He has over 25 years of experience working with international institutions and advising national governments. Prior to rejoining the World Bank in 2022, he served as UN Assistant Secretary General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations Development Program.

Previously at the World Bank, López-Calva led research, financing, and policy engagement on poverty and inequality issues across multiple regions, and served as the Co-Director for the World Development Report 2017 on Governance and the Law.

López-Calva has also held various positions in academia including at Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California-San Diego and the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research. His research interests focus on labor markets, poverty and inequality, institutions, and the microeconomics of development. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Boston University, as well as a Master’s and a PhD in Economics from Cornell University.

Lisa Miller

Lisa K. Miller

Manager, Integrity Compliance, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group 

Lisa Miller is the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Officer and heads the Integrity Compliance Unit in the World Bank Group's Integrity Vice Presidency. She previously was a Senior Counsel in the World Bank's Legal Vice Presidency focusing on sanctions and legal procurement matters. Prior to joining the World Bank, she was in private legal practice in Boston and Washington, D.C. Her practice focused on integrity compliance, sanctions, public procurement, and corporate matters.

Lisa Miller received an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center. She received her J.D. from George Washington University Law School where she was a member of The George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics, and a Dean’s Fellow. She graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a B.S. in International Politics and Certificate in German Studies.

Marie Mallard

Marie Mallard

Head, Economic Actors Control Division, French Anticorruption Agency, France 

Marie Mallard is a senior compliance and regulatory expert with over 15 years of experience across the public and private sectors. Currently Head of the Economic Actors Control Department at the French Anti-Corruption Agency, she has held key compliance leadership roles at TotalEnergies. She previously served at the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) on AML-CFT matters and began her career at HSBC.

Dr. Hentie Dirker

Dr. Hentie Dirker

Chief Officer for Environmental, Social, and Governance, and Integrity, AtkinsRéalis, Canada

Dr. Hentie Dirker, is the Chief ESG and Integrity Officer at AtkinsRéalis, Canada. He is responsible for the firm’s overall ESG compliance posture having the goal of creating ESG and Compliance programs recognized as benchmark within the sectors where the company operates.

Dr. Dirker joined AtkinsRéalis from Siemens where he spent 22 years in various roles in South Africa and Canada. Dr. Dirker is a past chair of the board of directors for the EthicsCentre of Canada, an organization dedicated to promoting and maintaining an ethical orientation and culture in Canadian organizations and currently a vice chair of the Business at OECD anti-corruption committee. He participates in various anti-bribery and corruption working groups and think tanks and is passionate about promoting best practice sharing between organizations.

He holds an Electrical and Electronic Degree in Engineering as well as a Master’s and Doctoral Degree in Engineering Management.

Eduardo Diniz Longo Staino

Eduardo Diniz Longo Staino

Director of Compliance, Andrade Gutierrez Engenharia, Brazil  

Eduardo is the Compliance and Internal Audit Director at Grupo AG. He graduated in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering (PUC/MG) and MBA in Finance, Auditing and Controlling Management. Eduardo has more than 18 years of experience in the areas of Compliance, Risk, Internal Audit and Corporate Governance. Having worked at companies such as RM Sistemas, Telemig Celular and Deloitte, for 7 consecutive years (2018 - 2024) he was recognized by LEC and Anuario Analise as one of the most Compliance admired professional in Brazil. He is also an MBA teacher, Board member of IBRIC, and Member of the Sinicon Ethics Committee.

Anele Ncube

Anele Ncube

Manager, Integrity & Prevention, Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption, African Development Bank

Anele leads critical initiatives in safeguarding the integrity of African Development Bank (AfDB) financed projects. She is an experienced professional with expertise in integrity and prevention strategies. With a robust background in criminal intelligence analysis and public administration, she brings strategic insights and comprehensive analytical capabilities to combating corruption and promoting ethical practices in Africa. She oversees the Integrity and Prevention work stream for AfDB-financed projects and manages the development and implementation of comprehensive strategies to prevent and detect potential integrity risks.

She is a certified criminal intelligence analyst and holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the National University of Singapore, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. She also holds a post graduate Diploma Criminal Intelligence Analysis from the University of Manchester and a junior degree attained from the University of Botswana.

AC4D Global Forum Speaker

Simon Fowler

Event Designer, Facilitator, Master of Ceremonies, Coach and Independent Consultant

Simon is a British national and strategic leader with over 30 years of international experience in the development, investment and commercial banking arenas. Based in Washington D.C and London while operating internationally, Simon now provides a unique brand of custom event design, facilitation, moderation and teambuilding services to corporate clients. He offers customized solutions in the following:

  • In-person, virtual and hybrid Event design, planning, facilitation & Master of Ceremonies services for small to large groups (10-750+)
  • Plenary and Panel Moderation
  • Teambuilding event design and implementation
  • Team and individual coaching

Simon can be reached at: www.linkedin.com/in/simonvfowler

Sanjay Pradhan

Sanjay Pradhan

Global Ambassador, Open Government Partnership 

Sanjay Pradhan was appointed as Open Government Partnership's Global Ambassador in January 2025, based on his significant contributions to the open government movement. In this role, he enhances OGP’s global positioning and advocates for open government values through public outreach and diplomatic engagement.

Previously, Sanjay served as CEO of OGP (2016 to 2025). Under his leadership, OGP expanded to 77 countries and 150 local governments, representing over 2 billion people, and collaborated with thousands of civil society organizations to deliver over 5,500 reforms for greater transparency, participation, and reduced corruption. As CEO, he led policy dialogues with Heads of States, ministers, and civil society organizations, and served as OGP’s global spokesperson.

Before OGP, Sanjay was the World Bank Vice President for eight years, holding multiple portfolios, including Vice President for Leadership, Learning and Innovation, Vice President of the World Bank Institute, and the first Director for Governance.

Sanjay speaks on governance, democracy, and anticorruption, and has appeared at major forums such as TED Talks, the UN General Assembly, and the World Economic Forum. In 2022, he was awarded Social Innovator of the Year by The Schwab Foundation. Sanjay holds a Ph.D. and a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

Anabel Cruz

Anabel Cruz

Founding Director, Institute for Communication and Development

Anabel Cruz is Uruguayan and the founding Director of the Institute for Communication and Development (ICD) in Uruguay, a civil society organization with more than three decades of experience in research, dissemination of information, advocacy and training of civil society organizations in Latin America and in the regional and global context. She has led research and coordinated international efforts for the design and adoption of common standards and accountability mechanisms for civil society, and has participated extensively in joint efforts for the fight against corruption, the defence of human rights and the protection of human rights defenders at the regional and global levels.

She was the Chair of the Board of Directors of CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation in two different terms (2007-2010 and 2016-2019). She led the creation in 2009 and since then she is co-coordinator of Rendir Cuentas, a Regional Initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean aimed to promoting Civil Society Organizations Transparency and Accountability. Anabel is a member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee and was its civil society co-chair 2022-2024.

Maria Poli

Maria Poli

Senior Specialist, Coalitions for Reform, The World Bank Group

Maria Poli is a public governance specialist dedicated to supporting multi-stakeholder coalitions to advance civic engagement, democracy and public institutions. She has contributed to designing and overseeing multiple World Bank and multi-donor programs to foster collaboration and joint work between governments and civil society groups in Africa, East and South Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean regions. Outside of the World Bank, Maria headed Instagram’s Global Policy Stakeholder Engagement strategy and worked as a public servant and a member of civil society organizations in Argentina and the Latin American region.

Maria is currently Board Co-Chair at Accountability Lab, and a Fulbright fellow. She obtained a master’s in public policy from Johns Hopkins University, a graduate degree in civil society studies (Di Tella and San Andres Universities, joint program), and a BS in international relations (Universidad del Salvador, Argentina).

Joseph Asunka

Joseph Asunka

CEO, Afrobarometer, Ghana 

Joseph Asunka is the CEO at Afrobarometer, a pan-African survey research organization that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, government, the economy, and social issues across the continent. He was previously Program Officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Before joining Hewlett, Joseph was a lecturer in Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to this, Joseph served as Program Officer at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development. Joseph's research focuses on governance, democracy, and political economy of development with special interests in electoral politics, public sector accountability, and the social contract. Joseph holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of University of California, Los Angeles.

 Carlos Felipe Jaramillo

Carlos F. Jaramillo

Vice President, Latin America & the Carribean (LAC), The World Bank Group

Carlos Felipe Jaramillo is the World Bank Vice President for the Latin America and the Caribbean Region, overseeing Bank relations with 31 countries and a portfolio of ongoing projects, technical assistance and grants of almost US$32 billion. Under his leadership, the Bank’s operations in the region focus on strengthening human capital through education and inclusion programs, increasing resilience to shocks, financing essential infrastructure, and supporting inclusive recovery and green growth.

Jaramillo was previously the World Bank country director for East Africa, based in Nairobi. He managed an operational portfolio of over 80 projects representing an investment of over US$12 billion to help countries accelerate sustainable growth.

Prior to his role in Africa, Jaramillo was the senior director of the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice (MTI), leading a global team of around 450 economists. Since joining the World Bank in 2002, he has also served two terms as country director in the Latin America and Caribbean Region.

Before joining the Bank, Jaramillo was a public servant in the Government of Colombia, holding offices in the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Trade. Jaramillo holds an M.A. and a Ph. D. in development economics from Stanford University. He has taught at the Department of Economics of the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota and at the University of Maryland, College Park. 

 Martin Raiser

Martin Raiser

Regional Vice President for South Asia, World Bank

Martin Raiser is the World Bank’s Vice President for the South Asia Region.

As the Regional Vice President for South Asia (since July 1, 2022), Raiser manages Bank relations with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and oversees a portfolio of projects, technical assistance and financial resources worth almost US$55 billion.

Before joining the region, Raiser was the World Bank’s Country Director for China and Mongolia, and Director for Korea. Raiser has also held positions as the Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Country Director for Turkey, Country Director for Brazil and Country Manager for Uzbekistan.

Raiser holds a doctorate degree in Economics (summa cum laude) from the University of Kiel, Germany, and degrees in Economics and Economic History from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. Before joining the World Bank in 2003, Raiser worked for the Kiel Institute of World Economics and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as Director of Country Strategy and Editor of the Transition Report.

He has published numerous articles in refereed economic journals and authored several books.

Manuela Ferro

Manuela Ferro

Vice President, East Asia & Pacific (EAP), The World Bank Group

Manuela Ferro was appointed World Bank Regional Vice President for East Asia and Pacific (EAP) in September 2021. Previously, she was Vice President of Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS), overseeing corporate policies on financing and analytical services.

A Portuguese national, Manuela has over 25 years of experience in various regions, including Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia. She has shaped creative development solutions for post-conflict, low-income, and upper middle-income countries.

An economist and engineer, Manuela has held technical and corporate positions at the World Bank. She served as Director for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management in the Middle East and North Africa, and Director for Strategy and Operations for Latin America and the Caribbean. She also managed the Country Economics unit in OPCS, leading the launch of new policies on guarantees and disaster response.

Manuela joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 1994. She holds an MSc./Engineering Degree from The Technical University of Lisbon, and a Ph.D. and M.A. in Applied Economics from Stanford University. She previously worked as an Assistant Professor and for the Government of Portugal on EU accession matters. Her interests include macroeconomics, game theory, international trade, and labor economics.

AC4D Global Forum Speaker

Pablo Saavedra

Vice President, Prosperity, World Bank

Pablo Saavedra is the World Bank’s Vice President for the Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions (EFI) Global Practice. In this position, he leads the World Bank’s practice groups that work on macroeconomic analysis and policies, fiscal policy, finance, trade, investment, competitiveness, poverty, governance, and climate economics. Saavedra, a Bolivian national, served in several positions of responsibility across the World Bank. Until recently, he was the Chief of Staff of the World Bank Group. Prior to that, he served as the Country Director for Mexico, and earlier as the Practice Manager of the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment unit in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. He also worked as Economic Adviser at the Country Economics department of the Operational Policy and Country Services (OPCS) Vice Presidency and was the Operations Committee (OC) Secretary. He held several positions in the EFI unit of the Europe and Central Asia Region. He brings to the position significant leadership experience, extensive technical knowledge of EFI areas, and rich operational experience across regions. He has worked with senior policymakers in several countries on reforms related to economic growth, macroeconomics and fiscal policy, and finance.

Alan Bacarese

Alan Bacarese

Director of Investigations, Strategy, and Operations, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group

Alan Bacarese joined the World Bank Group’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) as Director of Investigations, Strategy, and Operations in February 2021.

In this role, Bacarese oversees INT’s investigations of alleged fraud, corruption, and other sanctionable practices involving projects and activities financed by the World Bank Group, its corporate vendors, and World Bank Group staff, as well as efforts to litigate substantiated investigations within the World Bank Group’s Sanctions System. He also manages INT’s Prevention, Risk, and Knowledge Management function, to promote best practices in the prevention of fraud and corruption in World Bank Group–supported projects. In addition, Bacarese provides support to INT’s Vice President in setting the strategic priorities for the unit’s overall anticorruption efforts.

Bacarese has many years of experience in investigating matters of international fraud and corruption. Before joining INT, he was the Director of Integrity and Anti-Corruption for the African Development Bank, where he led the Bank’s anticorruption investigation function and its policies on anticorruption and integrity measures, as well as the Bank’s business integrity due diligence function. His past roles include serving as a UK Senior Crown Prosecutor, the first Head of Legal and Case Consultancy at the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery, a Director in the international consultancy Stream House AG, and as an External Member of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Sanctions Committee from 2015 to 2019. He is a UK Barrister and an Advocate of the Higher Courts of England and Wales. 

Wencai Zhang

Wencai Zhang

Managing Director & Chief Administrative Officer World Bank Group

Wencai Zhang has been the Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Administrative Officer (MDCAO) since March 2024. In this role, Wencai oversees the corporate units that deliver core services to the entire World Bank Group (WBG), including, coordination on strategy development and monitoring, budget planning, information and technology (IT), real estate management, corporate security, general services, health and safety, corporate procurement, shared services, and corporate risk management. In addition, Wencai is responsible for the provision of administrative support to the Sanctions System.

Wencai brings a wealth of experience in public sector management, international economics, and development, and with Multilateral Development Banks. Before joining the WBG, Wencai was Vice President at the Export-Import Bank of China, overseeing strategic planning and implementation, budget and accounting, sovereign operations, and business development in over 160 countries. He also served as a Trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, which promotes the development and implementation of international accounting and sustainability standards globally.

He has also served as Vice President at the Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC); and Vice President at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) where he led operations in South, Central and West Asia and promoted knowledge sharing and adoption of innovative technologies.

Additionally, he held other leadership positions within the Ministry of Finance of China, such as Director General of the Department of External Economic Cooperation, and Director General of the Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation.

Wencai also served as Executive Director for China at ADB, Alternate Governor for China at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Director for China at the New Development Bank (NDB), and Director for China at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Wencai began his career in the World Bank Department at the Ministry of Finance of China and served as Advisor to the Executive Director for China at the WBG. Wencai holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

AC4D Global Forum Speaker

Roby Senderowitsch

Practice Manager for the Public Administration Group, Institutions Global Department, The World Bank

Roby Senderowitsch currently serves as the World Bank’s Institutions Practice Manager for Public Administration. Previously he has held various positions, including Practice Manager for Governance ECA-West; Manager for Leadership, Learning & Innovation; Manager of the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA); and Country Manager in the Dominican Republic. His work in the Bank included a strong focus on political economy analysis, building coalitions for change, anti-corruption, and performance-based management of public institutions.

Currently, he also manages 3 communities of practice on Open Government and Transparency, Anti-Corruption, and Citizen Engagement.  Before joining the WB, Roby has led an international development program in Cuba where he served as the Country Manager for an international CSO, he has been a lecturer in Human Resource management in nonprofit organizations, as well as director of educational programs and community development and HR management in the private sector.

Roby’s publications include “Building Effective, Accountable, and Inclusive Institutions in Europe and Central Asia” (one of the most downloaded publications of the World Bank), “Democratic Governance in Mexico: Beyond State Capture and Social Polarization” (with Yasuhiko Matsuda), “Performance Informed Budgeting and Trust in Government” (with Nick Manning and others), and “From the International Financial Crisis to Inclusive Growth in the Dominican Republic.” Senderowitsch holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Buenos Aires and a Masters in Policy Studies from the Johns Hopkins University.

AC4D Global Forum Speaker

Jean Pesme

Director, Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Department, The World Bank Group

Jean Pesme is the Global Director of Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice at the World Bank. His global team of experts works with governments and partners to make financial systems more resilient, to open access to finance for poor and vulnerable people, to support economic activity and to develop financial markets. Their strategy and its implementation emphasize development of digital financial services, addressing climate change and sustainable finance and creating opportunities for women by bolstering their financial inclusion.

Previously, Jean led the World Bank’s Financial Stability and Integrity global team, which assists countries in building and restoring robust and resilient financial systems operating with integrity, transparency and in compliance with international standards and recommendations. He has extensive experience working on financial sector issues, notably in the Middle East and North Africa. 

Jean Phillipo-Priminta

Jean Phillipo-Priminta

Director General, Financial Intelligence Authority

Dr. Priminta was appointed as the Director General of the FIA by the State President in May 2022 and was confirmed by the Public Appointments Committee on 26 May 2022. Before her appointment, Dr. Priminta was working with the Ministry of Justice under the Directorate of Public Prosecutions as Chief State Advocate and Director of Asset Forfeiture Unit. While with the Ministry of Justice, she was instrumental in prosecution of high profile cases on money laundering and other financial crimes in the country. Her expertise includes the interpretation and application of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (AML/CFT/CFP). She was one of the assessors for the Republic of Angola in 2022 on the country's compliance with the FATF Standards. Further, she is the Co-Chair of the Malawi's National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing Committee since May 2022 and Contact Point for the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for Southern Africa (ARINSA) since 2019, among others.

Dr. Jean Phillipo-Priminta is a member of the Malawi Bar Association. She holds Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Transnational Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention obtained from the University of the Western Cape, Republic of South. She also holds a Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) in Transnational Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention obtained from the same University and Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B) (Honours) from the University of Malawi.

Maira Martini

Maíra Martini

Chief Executive Officer, Transparency International

Maíra Martini has been with the Transparency International Secretariat since 2011. Most recently, she served as Head of Policy & Advocacy, where her leadership was pivotal in shaping the organisation's strategic direction. She has led Transparency International on efforts in anti-money laundering, beneficial ownership transparency and combating illicit financial flows. Martini is a lawyer with a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Beyond her work at Transparency International, Martini has authored numerous reports and analyses on anti-corruption and good governance and served on the steering groups of OpenOwnership, and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective. Her achievements were recognised in 2022 when she received the Transparency International's Amalia Award for Professional Excellence.

Brooke Harrington

Brooke Harrington

Professor of Sociology Author of Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism Organization Dartmouth College

Brooke Harrington is Professor of Economic Sociology at Dartmouth College. Since 2007, she has examined inequality from the top end of the socio-economic spectrum, via the offshore financial system—a research program inaugurated by her training for two years to become a certified offshore wealth manager. Her most recent publication from this project, Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism (W.W. Norton; in German from Campus Verlag) was named a “Best Book” of 2024 by the Financial Times and one of the “Political Books That Help Us Make Sense of 2024” by the New Yorker. Her previous book on offshore finance as a social, political and economic phenomenon—Capital without Borders (Harvard University Press)—won the “Outstanding Book” award from the Inequality, Poverty and Mobility section of the American Sociological Association, and was translated into four languages. With a grant from the US National Science Foundation, she is currently leading a team using network science methods to test ideas from her ethnographic research with Big Data from the Panama, Paradise and Pandora Papers leaks. Based on this research, she advises the OECD, EU Parliament, and the tax agencies of countries across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. She was previously on the faculties of Brown University and the Copenhagen Business School, and was awarded the PhD in Sociology by Harvard University.

Liz David Barrett

Elizabeth David-Barrett

Professor of Governance and Integrity, Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption (CSC), University of Sussex

Liz David-Barrett joined the University of Sussex in 2014, following four years at Saïd Business School and two years in the Department of Sociology at the University of Oxford. Liz has a DPhil in Politics from Oxford, an MA in Slavonic and East European Studies from the University of London, and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Oxford). Liz previously worked for London think tanks the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Centre for European Reform, political risk consultancy Oxford Analytica, and before that was a journalist in Croatia and Hungary, reporting for The Economist, the Financial Times, the BBC World Service and Business Central Europe.

As the Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption (CSC), Liz leads the Centre's activities in research, teaching and policy impact. She engages widely with anti-corruption practitioners in governments, the private sector and NGOs. Liz has written several reports for Transparency International - on the UK Bribery Act, lobbying and the revolving door, and local government corruption - and has given evidence to parliamentary select committees. 

Bruce Searby

Bruce H. Searby

Attorney (white-collar crime); former DOJ prosecutor, Searby PLLC

Bruce Searby is Founder of the law firm Searby PLLC, and of Good Ground International, a consulting firm focused on the rule of law, based in Washington, D.C.

Bruce’s thirty-year legal career includes more than a decade as a U.S. federal prosecutor specializing in public corruption cases. Bruce served the U.S. Department of Justice in the office in charge of enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Bruce also prosecuted FCPA, public corruption, money laundering, and government fraud cases for ten years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles. There, he investigated and brought to trial an emblematic 2007 corruption case which successfully prosecuted two individuals for bribing the former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand official to obtain various contracts, and laundering the money in offshore accounts.  Bruce also led International cooperation with Thailand that led to a 50-year sentence there for the former governor.  Bruce also successfully tried a Los Angeles County mayor and licensed California attorney for corruption and money laundering, in which the corrupt official provided legal services to enable his co-schemers’ companies to defraud the city,

In private practice, Bruce's cases deal with anti-corruption, money laundering, and asset forfeiture laws by representing companies and individuals in criminal proceedings, internal investigations, and compliance/due diligence reviews. Bruce has written and lectured extensively on the use of the money laundering laws to hold environmental bad actors accountable.  Bruce has also practiced before the World Bank Group’s Sanction Board.

Phrommet

Phrommet Bencharongkit

Project Director, Thai Private Sector Collective Action Against Corruption

Phrommet Bencharongkit is the Project Director of the Thai Private Sector Collective Action Against Corruption (Thai CAC), an initiative established in 2010 by Thailand's leading business organizations to combat corruption through collective action. In his role, Mr. Phrommet oversees the overall strategy and operations of CAC, working to promote effective anti-corruption policies and create a transparent business environment in Thailand. 

With over 20 years of experience, Mr. Phrommet has a background in business consulting, strategic planning and development, marketing research, and corporate assessment. He has collaborated with government agencies, the private sector, and international organizations, providing expertise in developing anti-corruption strategies and fostering organizational transparency. 

Under his leadership, the Thai CAC received the Asia-Pacific Anti-Corruption Collective Action Award in 2023, presented by the Basel Institute on Governance. This award recognized CAC's outstanding efforts in promoting business integrity and anti-corruption initiatives in the region. 

Through his extensive experience and leadership at the Thai CAC, Phrommet continues to play a pivotal role in advancing anti-corruption efforts and promoting ethical business practices in Thailand. 

Vaness Hans

Vanessa Hans$% Head of Private Sector

Basel Institute on Governance, Switzerland

Vanessa Hans is the Head of Private Sector at the Basel Institute on Governance, a position she has held since July 2022 after joining as a Private Sector Specialist in January 2020. She leads a team focused on compliance and Collective Action, working to strengthen the private sector's response to corruption risks through anti-corruption initiatives and technical assistance to corporations and state-owned enterprises.

Vanessa advises a range of organizations, including SMEs, multinationals, state-owned enterprises, and international bodies, on governance, ethics, and compliance. She also oversees the Institute's efforts on the intersection of corruption, business, human rights, and the humanitarian sector.

She serves on the Board of the United Nations Global Compact Network Switzerland and Liechtenstein and is a member of several advisory groups, including the ACI of the ADB and OECD, the Anti-Corruption Leaders Hub of the OECD, and the UNCAC Working Group on Human Rights and Corruption. Additionally, she is part of the Independent Sustainability Sounding Board of Argor-Heraeus.

Previously, Vanessa was the Managing Director of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines, where she established a network-wide code of conduct and served as Data Privacy Officer. She initiated multi-stakeholder committees addressing various challenges and led the Chamber to win the French public service delegation contract.

Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a minor in International Relations from HEC Montreal and a Master of Science in Corporate Social Responsibility from Nottingham University Business School.

Soji Apampa

Soji Apampa

Co-Founder/Chief Executive Officer, The Convention on Business Integrity, Nigeria

Soji Apampa is a co-founder of the Integrity Organisation (established in 1995). He has been actively involved with designing, resourcing, and supervising program implementation. At Integrity, he was one of the initiators of the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI), a project launched in Lagos in 1997 to promote ethical business practices, transparency, and fair competition in both the private and the public sectors. He is an International Governance Expert specialising in corporate and political governance. He holds a master’s degree in Governance & Finance from Liverpool John Moores University and a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Civil & Structural Engineering from the University of Sheffield, UK. He is also a 2008 Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative West Africa (of the Aspen Global Leadership Network Aspen, Colorado). In 2008, he was appointed to the International Working Group of the UN Global Compact on the 10th Principle (anti-corruption). Soji led efforts to raise funds for, develop and deploy a Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) launched in November 2014, which today forms a prerequisite for listing on the Premium Board of the Nigeria Stock Exchange and a factor in its tradable Corporate Governance Index. Mr. Apampa was a member of the Technical Working Group on “Governance, Institutions, Administration of Justice, Anti-Corruption & National Orientation” to prepare Nigeria’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (Agenda 2050). He was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Transparency. He runs the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network activities in Nigeria, a global, award-winning Collective Action initiative in the fight against corruption.

Prince

Prince Nwankwo

Counsel and Integrity Compliance Specialist, World Ban

Prince Nwankwo is Counsel and Integrity Compliance Specialist in the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Integrity Compliance Office (ICO). In this role, he advises sanctioned entities on developing and implementing effective corporate integrity compliance programs and measures towards meeting the conditions for release from WBG sanction. He also supports the ICO in connection with settlements, policy making and collective action initiatives. Before joining the ICO, Prince worked at leading Nigerian law firms, focusing on complex litigation, compliance, and risk management. He also previously worked with the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority in Banjul, The Gambia, where he supported the ECOWAS and African governments in antitrust policy formulation and implementation.  He holds a Master of Laws degree (LLM) from Harvard Law School and Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from the University of Nigeria. Prince is admitted to practice law in Nigeria and the State of New York.  

Akingbolahan Adeniran

Akingbolahan Adeniran

Legal and Program Director, Project Expedite Justice, and Former Attorney-General of Ogun State, Nigeria

Akingbolahan Adeniran is a former state attorney-general and national rule of law advisor in Nigeria with extensive criminal and administrative investigative experience. He has worked as a senior investigator with the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, leading international fugitive tracking operations and investigating misconduct within the UN. He spent nearly a decade as an investigator and trial lawyer at the International Criminal Court, handling cases involving dangerous international crime suspects.

In 2015, he contributed to the Draft National Anti-Corruption Policy and Strategy for the Nigerian Vice President-elect and prepared a chapter on transparency in the justice sector for the 2017-2022 National Policy on Justice. Between 2015 and 2018, he provided technical support to the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption and the Asset Tracing Team of the Presidential Asset Recovery Committee, advising on policies to improve anti-corruption agency coordination and supporting the implementation of the nationwide whistleblowing policy.

Currently, he is the Horn of Africa Legal and Program Director at Project Expedite Justice, working on anti-corruption projects in Sudan. He also collaborates with Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies on establishing an African alliance for people-centered justice and advises the Justice Action Coalition. Adeniran has published several articles and co-authored the book "International Criminal Investigations – Law and Practice." He holds a first-class honors degree in Law from the University of Lagos and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

Jocelyne Jabbour

Jocelyne Jabbour

Senior Procurement Specialist, East Latin America and Caribbean Region, The World Bank Group

Jocelyne Jabbour is a Senior Procurement Specialist at the World Bank with the Latin America and the Caribbean region, and previously in the Middle East and North Africa region.  She has more than ten years’ experience in procurement operations and fiduciary work in Fragile Conflict and Violence (FCV) countries. She has led Third-Party monitoring Agents in FCV countries. 

Jocelyne holds a degree in Law from Saint Joseph University in Lebanon, a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Wales, and currently pursuing her PhD in International Law and legal studies. She holds a Certificate in Leadership from Harvard Business School, and is CP3P-F certified professional in public-private partnerships.

Arkan El Seblani

Arkan El Seblani

Regional Chief Anti-Corruption and Integrity Advisor and Programme Manager, United Nations Development Programme Regional Hub for Arab States

Arkan El Seblani is a jurist and an international professional working in the field of sustainable development. Specializing in governance, he focuses on anti-corruption and strengthening the rule of law. 

He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Lebanese University and a master’s degree in international and comparative law from George Washington University in the United States.

With 18 years of experience, El Seblani has supported reform efforts in more than 20 countries working with the United Nation, in addition to his experience in private legal practice in Lebanon and the United States, as well as with the Public Prosecution Office in Qatar.

El Seblani has published numerous articles and papers on law and public policy. He is also a member of various professional associations worldwide and a regular speaker and commentator at international and regional universities, seminars and conferences.

 Angelo Matusse

Ângelo V. Matusse

Deputy Attorney General, Republic of Mozambique

Ângelo V. Matusse is the Deputy Attorney-General of Mozambique. He is a member of the ICSID Panels of Conciliators and Arbitrators and a qualified arbitrator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London.

In his role, he has represented the state in civil litigation and arbitration matters, as well as in various settlement negotiations. He has been a lecturer of Public International Law at Eduardo Mondlane University since 1992.

From 2014 to 2021, Matusse served as a judge on the African Court of Human and People's Rights. He headed the Mutual Legal Assistance and Cooperation Division at the Attorney-General’s Office from 2015 to 2020.

Nicola Bonucci

Nicola Bonucci

Former Director for Legal Affairs, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Nicola Bonucci is a French-Italian lawyer based in Paris. With over three decades of experience in international law, Bonucci has made significant contributions to the field, particularly in anti-corruption and responsible business conduct.

Bonucci began his career teaching public international law at KU Leuven before joining the Legal Office of FAO in Rome in 1988. In 1993, he moved to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where he served for over 26 years. During his tenure at the OECD, he held various positions, including Director for Legal Affairs, advising on public international law and internal governance, representing the OECD in bilateral and multilateral negotiations, and leading the OECD delegation in the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group.

He played a pivotal role in the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and initiated the Friends of Anti-Corruption Initiative (FACI). After leaving the OECD in 2019, Mr. Bonucci joined Paul Hastings as a Partner, handling internal investigations and advising international organizations. As of July 2023, he works as an independent lawyer and consultant for both public and private entities.

Dorothy Perez

Dorothy Pérez Gutiérrez

Comptroller General, Chile

Dorothy was appointed Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile on November 6, 2024. She holds a Law and Social Sciences degree from Universidad de Chile, a Master in Management with a focus on Control from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, and a Master in Management and Public Policies from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. She also has diplomas in Economic Administrative Law, Artificial Intelligence, and Fraud Prevention.

Dorothy has over 10 years of experience teaching postgraduate courses in administrative law, auditing, and control. She joined the Office of the Comptroller General in 2004 and has held various positions, including reporting attorney, Head of the Unit of Auditing and Registration, Regional Comptroller of Valparaíso, Deputy Head of the Administrative Audit Division, and Head of the Business Committee in the Legal Division. From 2014 to 2015, she was Head of the Legal Division at the Ministry of Education. In 2016, she returned to the Office of the Comptroller General as Chief of Staff and later served as Deputy Comptroller General and Judge of Accounts. Since December 18, 2023, she has been serving as Deputy Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile.cumbent, she served as Deputy Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile.

Edward Akol

Edward Akol

Auditor General, Uganda

Edward Akol is the Auditor General of the Republic of Uganda (appointed in July 2024). He joined the Office of the Auditor General in 1994 as an Auditor and rose through the ranks to his current position the Auditor General. He has been part of the team implementing initiatives aimed at delivering better services by the Office of the Auditor General of Uganda

Holder of a Bachelors of Commerce degree in Accounting from Makerere University and a Certified Public Accountant of over 17 years with membership of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya and Uganda. A holder as well of a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Heriot Watt university - Scotland and several certificates through extensive trainings in Public Sector audits including leadership and management courses at Harvard University, AFROSAI E and Crown Agents. He is also a fellow at the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

He has extensive experience in public sector accounting and audit. He is currently on the Governing Council of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda as a member and Chairperson of the Audit committee of council. Also a former Chairperson of the Board of Auditors of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The COMESA Board is responsible for the audit of accounts of COMESA and its affiliates.

He is currently the Chair of the INTOSAI working group on audit of extractive industries  

He was the Vice Chairperson of the multi-sector committee for the development of the National Audit Act and Regulations that currently govern the operations of the Office of the Auditor General Uganda. This committee was pivotal in the development and passing of the OAG National Audit Act 2008 which is in use today.

Monica Chipanta Mwansa

Monica Chipanta Mwansa is the Deputy Director General of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zambia, a lead institution in the fight against corruption in Zambia. She oversees the Commission's operations, ensuring strategic objectives are met, and staff maintain integrity and professionalism. Monica manages corruption prevention, education activities, and authorizes investigations and prosecutions of corruption and financial crimes, including Anti-Money Laundering cases. She collaborates with public and private sector stakeholders, both locally and internationally, on anti-corruption strategies.

Monica holds an MBA in Organizational Leadership from the University of Zambia, a Master's in Law from London South Bank University, an LL.B from the University of Zambia, and certificates in Legislative Drafting, Management, and Public Leadership Training from Bridgewater State University. She is also a Mandela Washington Fellow.

Previously, Monica led the Taxation and Financial Crimes Department at the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) of Zambia, where she prosecuted financial crimes. She established the NPA's presence in the Western Province as the first Provincial Attorney, earning the Province recognition as the Most Robust Institution Against Corruption in 2018.

Monica is a member of the AML/CFT Task Force of Senior Officials, represents Zambia at the ESAAMLG, and the Zambian Government's nominee to the UNAFRI’s Technical Advisory Committee.

Reida Kashta

Reida Kashta

General Director, Public Procurement Agency, Albania 

PhD. Reida Kashta (Shahollari) is the General Director of the Public Procurement Agency (since October 2017). She has worked at the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) in Albania since 2006. From 2010 she held the position of Director of Legal, Monitoring, and Publication Directory. From February 2016 to October 2017, she served as Secretary General in the Ministry of Urban Development.

In May 2020, Reida was appointed as Negotiator for Chapter 5, Public Procurement, and became a member of the Albanian Negotiating Team for EU accession. In November 2022, she was appointed Head of the Negotiating Team for Albania's accession to the Government Procurement Agreement of the World Trade Organisation.

Reida holds a Doctorate from the University of Turin, Italy, and the University of Tirana, Albania, and a Master's Degree in European Studies from the Graduate School of European Studies of Albania. Her research interests focus on Public Procurement. She has authored several scientific papers presented at international conferences and published in national and international journals, and co-authored several manuals on public procurement procedures.

Since 2009, Reida has been an external lecturer at the Magistrate School of Albania and the Law Faculty at the University of Tirana, and a trainer at the Albanian School of Public Administration. She has delivered training on public procurement courses organized by the International Training Center/International Labour Organisation (ILO), SIGMA/OECD, World Bank, and EBRD.

Thom Townsend

Thom Townsend

Executive Director, Open Ownership

Thom Townsend is Open Ownership’s Executive Director and chief strategist. He directs implementation efforts and works with partners to maximize our impact. His focus is on making sure that Open Ownership delivers on its goal of ensuring the world has more open, usable information about who ultimately owns and controls companies.

Thom is an expert on open data and was previously Head of Data Policy for the UK government. He has led some of the UK’s biggest open data commitments at the national and global level, and has spent his career ensuring that good data is being produced and used inside and outside of government.

Thom led the open contracting elements of the 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit and it was here that the real push towards open, usable beneficial ownership data got started and Open Ownership was born. 

Michael Hegarty

Michael Hegarty

Policy Adviser, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom

Mike Hegarty is a Policy Advisor at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. His work within the Illicit Finance & Anticorruption Department is focused on FCDO’s efforts to support broader international adoption and use of beneficial ownership registers. Previously in his FCDO career Mike worked in policy roles focused on the Western Balkans, the South Caucasus and Eastern Europe, most recently as a UK diplomat in Kyiv, where he worked alongside civil society and the international community to support Ukraine’s wartime anticorruption and judicial reform efforts.

Jens K. Kristensen

Jens K. Kristensen

Lead Public Sector Specialist, Eastern and Southern Africa Region, The World Bank 

Jens Kromann Kristensen is Lead Governance Specialist in the World Bank where he works on the global Anti-Corruption for Development Program and program for strengthening governance and institutions in the Middle East and North Africa Region.  He has extensive experience in public sector governance including from his previous roles as Practice Manager, Head of the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Secretariat, his work at the Danish Ministry of Finance, OECD, KPMG and the World Bank Regional Departments in East Asia & the Pacific, Europe & Central Asia and East & West Africa. He has worked on public sector reforms in low, middle and high income countries as well as fragile and conflict-affected states.

Srbuhi Galyan

Srbuhi Galyan

Minister of Justice, Armenia  

Srbuhi Galyan is currently the Minister of Justice of Armenia.

Srbuhi Galyan has over a decade of experience in both public and private sectors. In late 2024, she was appointed to a high-ranking ministerial position. At the age of 27, she was appointed as Deputy Minister of Justice, and a year later, she was entrusted with the position of Deputy Prosecutor General of Armenia, a role she held for four years.

Ms. Galyan has also held prominent leadership positions at the Special Investigative Committee, which was later replaced by the current Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia.

Srbuhi Galyan completed law studies at Yerevan State University, where she earned a Ph.D. in law. Subsequently, she pursued further education at the School of Advocates of Armenia and passed the bar exam, becoming a licensed attorney.

In addition to her professional roles, Ms. Galyan has also made contributions to legal education. She currently lectures at the Criminal Law Department at Yerevan State University, her Alma Mater, as well as at the Academy of Justice, which trains future judges, prosecutors, and investigators. She has also taught at the Training Center of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia and the Police Educational Complex.

Srbuhi Galyan is the author of four journal articles and a co-author of a textbook. She is also proficient in three languages.

Grace Malera

Grace Malera

Office of the Ombudsman, Malawi  

Grace Malera is the current Ombudsman of the Republic of Malawi. With 23 years of experience in governance and human rights, her work has focused on access to justice, transparency in public finance management, institutional ethics, public service delivery, and anti-corruption efforts. She holds a Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB Honours) from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College (2002), and a Masters in Law Degree (LLM) in Human Rights from the University of the Free State, South Africa (2007). Admitted to the Malawi Legal Bar, she practices in the Supreme Court and High Court of Malawi.

Grace has held positions such as Team Leader of UKaid’s Malawi Programme on Violence Against Women and Girls, Executive Director of Action Aid Malawi, Executive Secretary of the Malawi Human Rights Commission, and Director of Legal Services. She has contributed to the establishment of NGOs focused on governance in Malawi. Passionate about using law for social change and justice, she has published peer-reviewed articles and represented Malawi in international forums at the African Union and United Nations.

Catherine Anderson

Catherine Anderson

Team Lead for Governance for Development, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

Catherine Anderson is Team Lead of Governance for Development, OECD-DAC, leading a multidimensional work program covering issues of governance, anti-corruption and illicit financial flows in development. Before joining the OECD, Catherine worked as Senior Public Sector Specialist with the World Bank in the East Asia and African Regions, and with several international development institutions – including the United Nations Development Programme, Natural Resources Governance Institute, Human Rights Watch – and the private sector Catherine has also served as Legal Adviser to the Attorney General in the Ministry of Justice, New Zealand. Catherine specialises in economic and public sector governance in developing and transition contexts, and has contributed to the field through several publications including, for example, on "Illicit Financial Flows in Oil and Gas Commodity Trade: Experience, Lessons and Proposals: Experience, Lessons and Proposals" (Porter, D and Anderson, C, 2021, OECD publishing); “What does it mean to leave no one behind: Governance’ in Development Co-operation Report 2018: Joining Forces to Leave No One Behind, OECD Publishing, Paris; ‘Institutions Taking Root: Building State Capacities in Challenging Contexts’ World Bank, 2014; and ‘Restore or Reform: UN Support to Core Government Functions in the Aftermath of Conflict’ UNDP Publication 2014. She holds a Masters in Law, Governance and Development (dist.), University of London and Bachelors Degrees in Law and Political Science from Victoria University, New Zealand. 

Mathias  Huter

Mathias Huter

Managing Director, United Nations Convention against Corruption Coalition

Mathias  Huter is the Managing Director of the UNCAC Coalition, the global civil society network of more than 400 NGOs working to advance the monitoring and implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). He is based in Vienna, Austria. 

As a civil society umbrella organization, the Coalition, jointly with its global community, works to elevate global anti-corruption standards and practices through the UNCAC, as well as through other relevant international mechanisms and fora, including the Financing for Development process.

Kaushal Kishor Ray

Kaushal Kishor Ray

Deputy Permanent Representative of Nepal, United Nations

Kaushal Kishor Ray has been working as Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York since July 2023. 

Ray has started his career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Nepal since August 2010. Most recently, he served as Charge d’affaires a.i. /minister (2021 Oct – 2022 July), deputy chief of mission/minister (2022 July-2022 Dec) and Counsellor (2019 Sep to 2021 Sep) in the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing. 

Ray is a graduate of the Australian National University, Canberra with a master’s degree (advanced) in International Relations (M.A.). He also holds a master’s degree (M.A.) in English literature and political science from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. 

From the Permanent Mission of Nepal, Ray is a member of the Bureau of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). Nepal is one of the co-facilitators of Ffd4 process, along with Mexico, Norway and Zambia.

Emmanuel Mathias

Emmanuel Mathias

Governance & Anticorruption, Legal Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Emmanuel Mathias heads the Governance and Anti-Corruption division in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Legal Department, where he is overseeing the IMF’s work on anticorruption and the rule of law. He previously focused on anti-money laundering issues. 

Prior to joining the IMF in 2005, Emmanuel served as a researcher in economics, was trained as a Customs special agent, and worked for the French financial intelligence unit. 

Emmanuel holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Paris – Pantheon Sorbonne. He graduated from the Institute of political studies of Strasbourg, and was admitted to the French national school of administration (ENA).

Jodi Tuer Glasow

Jodi Tuer Glasow

Executive Secretary, Sanctions Board, The World Bank Group

Jodi T. Glasow, a Canadian national, is the current Executive Secretary to the World Bank Group Sanctions Board. Prior to joining the Sanctions Board Secretariat, Jodi held various positions within the World Bank Group since 2002. She served as Chief Counsel of the internal investigations unit of the Department of Ethics and Business Conduct from 2017 through 2022. As part of her responsibilities, Jodi represented the World Bank on various committees, including the Chief Executive Board of the United Nations Task Force on Sexual Harassment. From 2009 through 2017, Jodi served as Executive Secretary, Peer Review Services, overseeing a unit of the World Bank's Internal Justice System focused on reviewing employees’ contractual disputes. From 2006 through 2009, she served as Executive Secretary (Acting) to the Appeals Committee and Secretary (Senior Counsel) from 2002 through 2006. In all her positions, Jodi pioneered many innovative reforms and identified unique solutions to complex problems resulting in transformative and lasting changes to the Bank’s processes and procedures. Before joining the World Bank, Jodi practiced law in Washington, DC, where she focused her litigation practice on labor and employment law. She also worked at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. Jodi is currently Vice Chair of the International Bar Association’s Sanctions and Exclusions Subcommittee.  She is a member of the Bars of the State of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia.  She holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Washington College of Law, American University, where she was a member of The American University International Law Review.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Jamieson Smith

Jamieson A. Smith

Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer, Office of Suspension and Debarment, The World Bank

Jamieson A. Smith, a United States national, is the Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer (SDO) for the World Bank, heading the Office of Suspension and Debarment (OSD). The OSD is an independent unit and the first tier of the Bank’s two-tiered adjudicative sanctions system. Smith reviews accusations of fraud, corruption, and collusion against firms and individuals brought by the Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) and determines if there is sufficient evidence to suspend their contracting eligibility. He operates independently without instructions from any other person or unit. Smith has spoken on anti-corruption at various international conferences in countries such as Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Before joining the Bank, he was an attorney in private practice, representing corporations and individuals in white-collar criminal and regulatory matters, including U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations. He has conducted internal investigations in multiple countries and advised on compliance and corporate governance. Smith has also taught international anti-corruption efforts as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He holds an A.B. and J.D. from Duke University and an M.A. in American Legal History from the University of Virginia.

Juan Ronderos

Juan G. Ronderos

Sanctions Officer, Inter-American Development Bank Group

Juan G. Ronderos has held the position of Sanctions Officer for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group since October 2010. He serves as the initial adjudicator within the IDB Group's two-tier Sanctions System. In accordance with the IDB Group's Sanctions Procedures, he is responsible for imposing sanctions on corporations and individuals found to have engaged in Prohibited Practices. 

Before joining the IDB Group, Ronderos was the Regional Team Leader for the Latin America and the Caribbean investigative team at the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT), which he joined in 2003. Ronderos was also part of INT’s South Asia investigative team, conducting investigations in India, Bangladesh, and Cambodia.

Before joining the Multilateral Development Banks, Ronderos worked as director for KPMG Forensics in Canada and the United States.

Ronderos’ career started in the early nineties in Colombia, where he held different law enforcement posts, ranging from front-line investigations to commanding a special anti-money laundering investigative task force. Later, Mr. Ronderos worked in academia as Assistant Director for the Nathanson Center for the Study of Organized Crime and Corruption (today called the Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security) at Osgoode Hall Law School in Canada (Osgoode Hall). Mr. Ronderos has a law degree from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, a Specialization in Taxation from the same university, and an LL.M from Osgoode Hall.

 Jelena Madir

Jelena Madir

Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Jelena Madir is the Chief Compliance Officer at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).  Prior to this appointment, she was the General Counsel of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.  Before joining Gavi in 2019, she spent nearly 11 years at EBRD, where she worked as a transactional lawyer, headed the Financial Law Unit and served as the Secretary to EBRD’s Enforcement Committee (Sanctions Board).  She has published extensively on sanctions regimes of multilateral development banks.  Previously, Jelena worked as a finance lawyer for several US law firms in Washington, DC, Frankfurt and Zagreb.

Mariam Diawara

Mariam Diawara

Executive Secretary, Sanctions Appeals Board, African Development Bank

Mariam Diawara is the current Executive Secretary of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)Sanctions Appeals Board, the second and final decision maker of the institution’s two-tier sanctions system.

She is a senior executive and a lawyer with over 25 years of leadership and professional experience in corporate governance, compliance, sanctions, ethics, litigation, and alternative dispute resolution mechanism (negotiation – mediation – arbitration). She is a French Attorney and a Certified Fraud Examiner with diverse cross sectoral expertise both in sovereign and non-sovereign lending, and in international dispute resolution.

Prior to her current role, she worked in the AfDB Legal Department as Chief Legal Counsel, Principal Legal Counsel, and Legal Consultant managing strategic projects. She has advised the AfDB on multiple development projects including energy and multinational road projects in over ten (10) AfDB’s regional member countries.

She is also the interim Director of the AfDB Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM), active in the arbitration and mediation community, and member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb, London, UK), and the Association of African Arbitration.

Before joining the Bank, she practiced as a lawyer in various renowned law firms in France andmanaged her own law firm for seven (7) years. Mariam holds more than four law degrees obtainedin France, including a Post graduate degree in International Business Law and Management from the ESSEC Business School (Paris, France), a Post graduate degree in International Administration from the University of Paris 2 (Panthéon-Assas), and a Bar Certification from the Paris Law School (France). 

Marie-Anne Birken

Marie-Anne Birken

Chair, Integrity Enforcement Committee, Asian Development Bank

Marie-Anne is an international lawyer with extensive experience in both public and private sectors across emerging and developed markets. She has held various senior leadership positions including as General Counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and as the Secretary at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) where she also served as Deputy General Counsel. Marie-Anne was previously a Regional General Counsel at Barclays Bank and a Partner at two international law firms. Her expertise includes governance, legal risk management, and stakeholder engagement. Currently, she holds various non-executive director positions and serves as the Chair of the Integrity Enforcement Committee of the ADB as well as the Chair of the Advisory Board at the Energy Charter Conference.

Marie-Anne holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Utrecht. She was admitted to the Amsterdam Bar in 1988 and as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales in 1994.

Mihaly Fazekas

Mihály Fazekas

Director, Government Transparency Institute

Mihály Fazekas is an associate professor at the Central European University, Department of Public Policy, with a focus on using Big Data methods to understand the quality of government globally. He is also the scientific director of an innovative think-tank, the Government Transparency Institute. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge where he pioneered Big Data methods to measure and understand high-level corruption in Central- and Eastern Europe. His research and policy interests revolve around corruption, favouritism, private sector collusion, and government spending efficiency. He regularly consults international organisations such as the OECD and a range of national governments and NGOs across the globe. He led a team of FCDO UK, GTI, and IMF which won the 1st prize at the IMF Anti-Corruption Challenge for measuring corruption and its costs globally.

Mare Bogeva Micovska

Mare Bogeva Micovska

Director, Procurement National Authority, Republic of North Macedonia

Mare Bogeva Micovska PhD, Director of North Macedonia’s Bureau of Public Procurement, is a leader and architect of the nation’s modern public procurement framework, known for her academic rigor, and  legislative expertise. In her two decades of service, she has driven systemic reforms to enhance transparency, efficiency, and compliance with EU standards.

She holds a Ph.D. and M.A in Legal Sciences. As Director of Public Procurement Bureau (2006–2014, 2024–present), she led landmark initiatives, including the Electronic Public Procurement System (EPPS), which digitized tender processes. This established North Macedonia as a regional pioneer in e-governance. Under her leadership, the Public Procurement Bureau introduced mandatory certification for procurement officers and aligned national laws with EU regulations.

As a lawyer and certified State Auditor, she pioneered governance and procurement in Western Balkan countries. 

Before returning to the Public Procurement Bureau, she served as Head of the National Bank’s Directorate for Public Procurement, overseeing strategic planning, tender documentation, and contract compliance. Her expertise extends to drafting legislation on public-private partnerships, concessions, and procurement safeguards, ensuring robust legal frameworks. She represented North Macedonia on the European Commission’s Advisory Committee for Public Procurement and is a certified lecturer. 

A prolific author and speaker, she has published extensively on procurement law and legal protections. 

Oscar Solorzano

Oscar Solorzano

Attorney, Head of Latin America, Basel Institute on Governance International Center for Asset Recovery (ICAR)

Oscar Solorzano is Director of the Latin America Office of the Basel Institute on Governance and a Senior Asset Recovery Specialist at the International Center for Asset Recovery (ICAR) of the Basel Institute, where he has been employed since 2012. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in law from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and doctorate studies at the University of Geneva, where he was a lecturer in criminal law. 

Since 2012, Oscar has worked on a number of high-profile international corruption and asset recovery cases across Latin America. Working closely with prosecutors and other law enforcement, Solorzano and his team provide technical assistance in the design and execution of legal strategies to recover illicit assets from overseas. 

Alina Zhovnytska

Alina Zhovnytska

Prosecutor at Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, Ukraine

Alina Zhovnytska is an anti-corruption prosecutor at the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since SAPO’s establishment in 2016, she has prosecuted high-level corruption cases (abuse of power, large-scale embezzlement, bribery, illicit enrichment, and violations of asset declaration laws) investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and representing public prosecution before the High Anti-Corruption Court. Prior to 2016 Alina was a prosecutor in the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office. 

She has led and collaborated on Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) with Austria, France, Croatia, Poland, and Estonia with the goal of identifying, seizing, and reclaiming illicit assets held in foreign jurisdictions. She has led international cooperation efforts in other jurisdictions leveraging other instruments to secure evidence and restrain assets. 

Alina holds degrees in law and economics from Ukrainian universities.

Gilbert Phiri

Gilbert Phiri

Director of Public Prosecutions, Zambia

Gilbert Andford Phiri was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions on 14th October 2022 and his appointment was ratified by parliament on 16th December, 2022.

Before his appointment as Director of Public Prosecutions, Phiri served as Director General of the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Republic of Zambia in which role he guided Investigation and Prosecution of corruption cases among others. He also served as Vice Chairperson of the Energy Regulation Board which is the energy regulator in the Republic of Zambia.

Before joining Public Service, Phiri was in law private practice, where he was Managing Partner of Messrs. PNP Advocates. He was involved in Civil and Criminal Litigation and handled many public interest cases. Phiri also worked as Senior Legal Officer for the National Legal Aid Clinic for Women (NLACW)a non- governmental organisation that acts pro-bono for women and children. 

Aside his role as Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Phiri is a member of the Law Association of Zambia. He also sits on the Executive Committee of the Africa Prosecutors Association (APA) as Treasurer. He is the President of the Southern African Heads of Prosecution Services (SAHOP) and also a member of the Eastern African Association of Prosecutors (EAAP). 

Ana Maria Munoz Boudet

Ana Maria Munoz Boudet

Lead Economist, Gender Team, The World Bank Group

Ana Maria is a Lead Economist with the Gender Group at the World Bank where she leads the work program on women’s leadership and decision-making. She was previously with the Poverty and Equity Department and co-led the Mind, Behavior and Development Unit. She has over 15 years of experience across world regions leading analytical and policy work on poverty, gender and equity. Ana MAria holds graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and the University College of London.

Mariam Galstyan

Mariam Galstyan

Acting Chair, Corruption Prevention Commission, Armenia

Mariam Galstyan currently serves as the Acting Chairperson of Armenia's Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC), an independent body established in 2019 as a cornerstone of the country’s anti-corruption reforms. With over 15 years of experience in state institutions, Mariam has been consistently involved in shaping Armenia's anti-corruption policy, public administration, and legal reform efforts.

Her career is marked by a steadfast commitment to integrity, transparency, and accountability. She previously led Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Policy Development Department at the Ministry of Justice and played a key role in international cooperation, serving as Armenia’s representative to GRECO, the OECD, and the UN Convention against Corruption review mechanisms.

In addition to her leadership role, Mariam is a dedicated lecturer, contributing to the professional training of public officials in anti-corruption and good governance. Her daily efforts at the Commission focus on reinforcing democratic principles by ensuring that state institutions operate with greater integrity, transparency, and fairness—fostering a culture where public trust is paramount.

Monica Kirya

Monica Kirya

Deputy Director, U4-Anticorruption Center, CHR. Michelsen Institute

Monica Kirya is a lawyer specialising in law and development. She is currently a Principal Adviser and Deputy Director at the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre in Bergen, Norway, where she leads research and policy advisory work on combating corruption in public services, particularly health and education, and integrating a gender perspective into anti-corruption efforts.

Monica chairs the Gender, Inclusion and Corruption Working Group of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Civil Society Coalition, a global network of activists, academics and practitioners collaborating to promote gender-sensitive approaches to implementing the UNCAC. She also serves on the board of the Allard Prize for Integrity.

Before joining U4 in 2016, Monica held various roles as a lawyer, lecturer and consultant in Uganda. She earned her Bachelor of Laws Honours degree from Makerere University in Uganda, and both her Master's and PhD in Law from the University of Warwick, UK.

 Marek Svoboda

Marek Svoboda

Director of Programs, The Central and Eastern European Law Initiative Institute, Czech Republic

Marek Svoboda has been working as CEELI Institute’s Director of Programs since 2013, overseeing the Institute’s work with legal professionals in Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Anglophone Africa, as well as support to human rights defenders in repressive environments. Prior to that, he headed the Center for Democracy and Human Rights at the largest Czech NGO, People in Need. He graduated from the University of Economics in Prague, and was awarded the Fulbright-Masaryk scholarship in 2012.  

Polina Lysenko

Polina Lysenko

Deputy Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, Ukraine

Polina Lysenko is Deputy Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) since April 2023. In this role, she oversees the Bureau’s engagement with Ukrainian and international partners, fosters cooperation with business and civil society organizations, and manages interactions with donors within international technical assistance projects. Additionally, she is responsible for developing strategies for the professional growth of NABU personnel.

Prior to her appointment at NABU, Ms. Lysenko served for two years as the Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Before that, she led projects focused on judicial development and international cooperation at the Office of Simple Solutions and Results and headed the Department of Information Policy and Public Relations at Ukrzaliznytsia JSC.

Lysenko’s association with NABU dates back to its inception. In April 2015, she joined the organization as an assistant to the First Deputy Director, a role she held for four years. Subsequently, she led the Department of International Legal Cooperation and Asset Recovery at the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

After gaining extensive experience in various government and public administration roles, Lysenko returned to NABU as Deputy Director.

Polina holds a Ph.D. in Law and has been formally recognized with a commendation from the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Lora Georgieva Mateeva

Lora Georgieva Mateeva

Senior Legal Expert and Legal Program Coordinator, Anticorruption Foundation, Bulgaria

Lora Georgieva Mateeva is a Bulgarian national attorney-at-law, experienced in litigation and consultation in the fields of corporate, property, administrative and tax law, member of the Sofia Bar Association and certified mediator. She has an education in economics and management and holds a Master-in-Law degree from Sofia University Saint Kliment Ohridski. In 2014, she was awarded a scholarship by the America for Bulgaria Foundation within the Young Leaders Program – Junior Justice Professionals Training. In 2017 – 2018, she attended the Academy of European Law (ERA) in Trier, Germany with a focus on human rights, protection and the development of democratic institutions. For more than 10 years she was providing comprehensive legal services to corporate clients mainly in the fields of energy, pharmacy, insurance, industry, retail, as well as took part in large-scale due diligence projects entrusted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and by private companies. Since late 2018 she has been part of the Anti-Corruption Fund (ACF) team as senior legal adviser and head of the legal team. She has contributed to the research and legal analysis of ACF’s major investigations, such as Apartmentgate, Crony Capitalism, Golden Puddle, Game of Parking Lots, Swamp Stories, Turkish Stream Pipeline, Conveniently Inclined Tenders and others, as well as to its analytical work, civic education initiatives and trainings for journalists. Lora is an author of various policy briefs and statements and a co-author of the Price of Free Speech Report, the Annual Monitoring Anti-Corruption Report, the Handbook for prevention of malpractice in tenders, The Local Accountability and Integrity Standard. On behalf of ACF she regularly takes part in consultations of ambassadors and diplomatic missions in Bulgaria, as well as of representatives of EU and Council of Europe bodies and other stakeholders. 

Tetiana Khutor

Tetiana Khutor

Chairwoman, Institute of Legislative Ideas, Ukraine  

Tetiana Khutor is a legal expert specializing in anti-corruption, asset recovery, and sanctions policy. She heads the Institute of Legislative Ideas, a leading Ukrainian legal think tank, where she has led major reforms, including Ukraine’s largest anti-corruption legislative proofing project. She previously served as Legislative Director to the Chair of the Anti-Corruption Committee and helped draft key laws, including the one establishing the High Anti-Corruption Court. Tetiana is a member of oversight councils for Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies and advises both the Ukrainian government and international organizations on sanctions and asset management. She is also a Visiting Professor of Practice at George Mason University and a Senior Lecturer at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

Daniëlle Goudriaan

Daniëlle Goudriaan

Partner, Ivy Corporate Defence & Investigations, the Netherlands

Daniëlle Goudriaan has over 20 years of experience in national and international law enforcement. She was appointed by the Council of the EU as the first Dutch European Prosecutor at the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Luxemburg on the 27th of July 2020. Before joining the EPPO, she was the National Prosecutor on Corruption in the Netherlands. She was responsible for establishing the specialized corruption team for foreign and commercial bribery within the Dutch Prosecutor’s Office (DPO), and supervised and provided guidance to members of this team on individual cases.

As the national prosecutor on corruption, Daniëlle was also responsible for further professionalization and development of the specialism within the DPO, and was involved in developing policies in this field. Prior to this position, she had been a senior prosecutor for several years and had handled numerous complex fraud and corruption cases. She was also part of the Dutch delegation in the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (WGB) for five years, a member of the Management Group of the WGB and Chair of the Meeting of the Law Enforcement Officials (WGB).

From January 2023 to January 2024, Daniëlle was Chair of the OESO Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (WGB) in Paris. As an attorney at IVY, Daniëlle focuses on the corporate investigations practice and assist corporates that are confronted with criminal investigations.

Drago Kos

Drago Kos

Chair, Istanbul Anticorruption Action Plan, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Slovenia

Drago Kos is the Chair of the OECD Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan and member of the Independent AC Advisory Committee in Moldova. From 2014 to 2022 he was the Chair of the Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions. In last years, he was member of the selections committees for the selection of the heads of SAPO and NABU in Ukraine, member of the International Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (IACAB) in Ukraine and a Co-Chair and member of the Defence Corruption Monitoring Committee (NAKO) in Ukraine. Between 2011 and 2015 he used to be International Commissioner and Chair of the Joint Independent Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) in Afghanistan. Between 2003 and 2011 he was the Chairman of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).

In his own country, Slovenia, Drago Kos was the first Chairman on the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption and Head of the Working Group for the development of Slovenian Corporate Integrity Guidelines.

Hannah Ravani

Hannah Ravani

Manager, Anti-Corruption and Governance Portfolio, United Nations Global Compact

Hannah Ravani manages the UN Global Compact Anti-Corruption & Governance portfolio, focused on advancing private sector action on Principle 10 and SDG16. In this role, she manages initiatives in collaboration with companies and partner organizations to promote a broader and more responsible corporate governance approach (transformational governance) and business integrity. Hannah's work includes the development of thought leadership, capacity-building tools, and policy advocacy aimed at enabling and equipping businesses to adopt more responsible and transparent practices. Most recently, she has been managing the Think Lab on Business Integrity, a global platform convening 26 companies to collaborate on updating an Ethics & Compliance Guide in partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, using a transformational governance lens. The Think Lab's multi-stakeholder consultations have also engaged government representatives, civil society, academia, and NGOs. Hannah is an attorney and member of the Washington State Bar Association, with experience in international human rights law, immigration law, arbitrary detention and policy advocacy. She holds an LL.M. in Sustainable International Development from the University of Washington School of Law, and a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law. Before joining the UN Global Compact, Hannah worked at the Tahirih Justice Center where she contributed to the Afghan Asylum Project.

Anna Koens

Anna Koens

Impact and Engagement Manager for Earth investigations, Journalismfund Europe

Anna is the Impact and Engagement Manager of the Earth Investigations Programme, a project to support environmental investigative journalism on European affairs in and outside Europe. Anna holds a Masters degree in sociology and has a keen interest in environmental crime, socio-environmental and integrity issues, and climate change. She also holds a Master’s degree in European Humanities and is an experienced editor.

Bruna Bronoski

Bruna Bronoski

Freelance Journalist, Brazil 

Bruna is an investigative reporter who specializes in the intersections of land grabbing, agricultural financialization, and the financial market. She is specifically interested in follow-the-money research, deforestation and social-environmental impacts on the ground. She is a former Rainforest Investigations Network fellow at the Pulitzer Center and holds a Master's degree in Environment and Development.

Thomas Bart

Thomas Bart

Freelance Journalist, France

Thomas has over 15 years of experience investigating the exploitation of hydrocarbons and other natural resources, mainly in Africa (Gabon, Uganda, Tanzania, and more) and Europe. His work focuses mainly on the practices of multinational corporations and their consequences, covering a wide range of issues, including human rights violations, environmental destruction, corruption, illegal activities, and the broader causes and impacts of climate change. He is a grantee of Journalismfund Europe.

Gustavo Faleiros

Gustavo Faleiros

Environmental Investigations Editor, Pulitzer Centre, USA 

Gustavo is the Director of Environmental Investigations for the Pulitzer Center, where he coordinates the Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN). Based in São Paulo, Brazil, he is an environmental journalist and media trainer specializing in data-driven journalism. In 2012, he launched InfoAmazonia, a digital platform that uses satellite imagery and other publicly available data to report on the nine Amazon rainforest countries. Before that, he was the editor of the Brazilian environmental news site O Eco.

Chiara Bronchi

Chiara Bronchi

Practice Manager, Institutions Global Department, The World Bank Group

Chiara Bronchi is the Practice Manager for Public Institutions Data and Analytics in the Institutions Global Department. Prior to that she was a Practice Manager at the Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth Unit in the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment Global Practice of the World Bank Group. She leads a group of macro-fiscal economists and tax experts, who work on fiscal policy, quality of spending and sustainable growth.

Chiara has over 26 years of professional experience in managing multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary programs gained in various international organizations. She started her professional career as Economic Adviser with the U.K. government, joined the OECD in 1998 as a Young Professional, and then the IMF in 2003. She served at the Head of the Fiscal Affairs Office of Kosovo under the UN Protectorate before joining the World Bank in 2008, where she has led lending operations, technical assistance, and knowledge products. In 2018-19 she was on external assignment as the Chief Thematic Officer of the ADB, where she provided vision and goals for the ADB thematic cluster and the ADB Strategy 2030.

She has published on taxation and public spending. Most recently, she has co-authored an approach paper for the Conclave of Ministers of Finance on financing Human Capital Development. Chiara holds a PhD in economics from Bologna University and a MSc in economics from University College of London.

Alexandra Zoe

Alexandra Kormah Zoe

Executive Chairperson, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC)

Cllr. Alexandra Kormah Zoe is the Executive Chairperson of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), where she spearheads efforts to investigate, prosecute, and prevent corruption. 

Born and raised in Monrovia, Liberia, Zoe holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia (2011), graduating Cum Laude. She also earned a master’s in political science/international Relations from the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida School of International Relations, University of Liberia (2016), with distinction. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Management) and an Associate of Arts degree from Stella Maris Polytechnic (2008).

With over nine years of legal experience, Zoe is a Counselor at Law at the Supreme Court of Liberia. Her expertise spans Commercial, Corporate, and Criminal law. She has held significant roles, including Head of Legal and Company Secretary at Guaranty Trust Bank (Liberia) Limited, and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Liberia Telecommunications Corporation (LTC) Mobile Company. She was also an Associate Partner at Zoe and Partners Law Offices.

Zoe is serving as President of the Rivercess Bar Association and as an Executive Member of the Liberia National Bar Association. Additionally, she is the Vice President of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA).

Her leadership at the LACC reflects her commitment to fostering transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct in both the public and private sectors, working closely with various stakeholders to bring about meaningful change in Liberia and West Africa.

Vira Mykhailenko

Vira Mykhailenko

Chief Judge, High Anticorruption Court, Ukraine

Vira Mykhailenko is Chief Judge at the High Anticorruption Court of Ukraine. She has a Ph.D. in Law, two higher education degrees - in Law (2003) and Intellectual Property (2008); she is a national trainer of the Council of Europe on European Anti-Discrimination Standards.  

She started her legal career in the public service in the legal department of the State Committee for the State Material Reserve. From 2003 to 2006, she held various positions in the State Reserve Agency of Ukraine.

In May 2007, she qualified for the bar exam and received a Ukrainian bar certificate. Since 2007, she has been practicing law in criminal cases. In 2010-2018, she was a lecturer in Criminal Procedure; Judicial and Law Enforcement Agencies of Ukraine; Human Rights Protection Mechanisms, etc.

From 2014 to 2018, she was a trainer of the National Police (training of patrol police cadets; representatives of departments of human rights protection as part of the reform of internal affairs bodies; and advanced training of investigators). 

From August 2018 to March 2019, she was a trainee of the National School of Judges.

Since 2014, she has taken part in various human rights projects of non-governmental and international organizations (including the Council of Europe, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, the Norwegian Refugee Council, etc.)

In April 2019, the President of Ukraine signed a decree on her appointment as a judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court, and in July of the same year, the assembly of judges elected her as a judge-speaker of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

Since February 2023, she has been the Head of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

Paula Da Costa

Paula Da Costa

Director Integrity and Anti-Corruption Office (PIAC), African Development Bank

Paula is the Director of the Office of Anticorruption and Integrity at African Development Bank (AfDB) since November 2021. She is responsible for promoting and environment of integrity through prevention and detection of integrity concerns and enforcement of environment of zero tolerance to fraud, corruption and staff misconduct in Bank operations and activities.

Paula is a lawyer. Prior to joining PIAC, she was the AfDB Ethics Officer and before joining AfDB worked at the Central Bank of West Africa States as Lead and Coordinated the Litigation Division and in Commercial Banks in Portugal.

Paula is a lawyer and Member of the Lisbon Bar Association, Portugal. She holds a postgraduate degree Fiscal Law from Lisbon Institute of Economics and Management, Portugal, and in Private Law from University of Jean-Moulin, Lyon, France

Michael Bushell

Michael Bushell

Head, Investigations Division, European Investment Bank

Michael Bushell serves as the Head of the Investigations Division at the European Investment Bank (EIB), where he leads a dedicated team tasked with investigating fraud, corruption, and misconduct related to EIB Group-financed activities. Before joining the EIB, he spent eight years with the United Nations World Food Programme, serving as Chief of Investigations in Nairobi, Kenya, and previously in Rome, Italy. Prior to his work with the UN, Michael worked with An Garda Síochána, the Irish National Police and the Criminal Assets Bureau, where his role focused on investigating the proceeds of crime and overseeing civil asset forfeiture cases.

 Matthew Fowler

Matthew Fowler

Chief, Office of Institutional Integrity, Inter-American Development Bank

Matthew Fowler is the Chief of the Office of Institutional Integrity (OII) as of October 1, 2023. Prior to this appointment, Fowler served in several leadership roles in OII including overseeing integrity risk management in private sector operations and anti-money laundering compliance for IDB activities. Mr. Fowler joined the IDB in 2009 as a Private Sector Integrity Officer in OII.

Fowler is a U.S. attorney specialized in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and anticorruption compliance.  Before joining the IDB, he worked as in-house FCPA counsel for a Fortune 50 company, and on FCPA and other international matters for private U.S. law firms.

Fowler, a U.S. citizen, holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and was a Fulbright Scholar in Developmental Economics at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Spanish from Nebraska Wesleyan University.

John Versantvoort

John Versantvoort

Head, Office of Anticorruption and Integrity, Asian Development Bank

John Versantvoort is the Head of the Office of Anticorruption and Integrity at Asian Development Bank (ADB) since December 2017. The Office leads ADB’s efforts to prevent, detect, and address incidents or risks of corruption, fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and other integrity concerns in ADB and its operations. Prior to joining OAI, Mr. Versantvoort took on increasingly senior roles in ADB’s Office of the General Counsel from April 2007 onwards, and – before joining ADB - in commercial legal practice in Japan (2001-2006) and the Netherlands (1995-2001). Mr. Versantvoort holds a postgraduate degree Master of Laws from University of London, England; and Master of Laws in Dutch Civil Law, and Master of Arts in Japanese Studies from University of Leiden, Netherlands.

 James Anderson

James (Jim) Anderson

Lead Governance Specialist, The World Bank Group

James Anderson (Jim) is a Lead Public Sector Specialist for the East Asia and Pacific region of the World Bank, where he works on a range of institutional reform issues in Viet Nam, Papua New Guinea, and other countries. Jim started his career as a development economist in Mongolia where he lived from 1993 through 1997, researching institutional reform, the informal sector, and the impacts of large-scale privatization. In 1997, Jim took his interest in institutions and empirical tools and began to apply them to governance challenges, notably anticorruption and judicial reform, in the transition countries of central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. In 1998 he led one of the World Bank’s first survey-based studies of corruption, in Latvia, and in succeeding years followed with others in Romania, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. He co-authored two of the reports in the Anticorruption in Transition series.

Jim moved to Vietnam in 2008 and focused his attention on access to information, transparency, anticorruption, and human rights, co-leading a survey-based diagnostic on corruption, studies on corruption in land management and the transparency of land-related information, and was the lead author of Vietnam Development Report 2010—Modern Institutions. He served as the Country Manager for Mongolia from 2014 through 2018, supporting the World Bank’s program in all fields, and from 2018 to 2023 Jim led the Bank’s anticorruption work in the Governance Global Practice, co-leading the Symposium on Data Analytics for Anticorruption and the Anticorruption for Development (AC4D) Global Forum (2023). He recently co-authored Reaching the Potential for the Digital Economy in Africa: Digital Tools for Better Governance and “Which data do economists use to study corruption?” Jim received his PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland and did his undergraduate studies at UMBC. 

Date: April 08 - 09, 2025

Location: Washington, DC