Fighting illicit financial flows

By Abbas Abubakar Umar

SIR: There is no denying the fact that corruption is one of the greatest challenges the African continent has seen, and as a result of illicit financial flows, corruption has caused a monstrous impact on the stability, economy and peace of countries, especially developing countries. Since illicit financial flows involve moving ill-gotten funds from one country to another, fighting it becomes harder due to the stringent measures and different laws set by different countries. Technology also plays a vital role in the fight against illicit financial flows.

While other challenges like insecurity, terrorism, and human-trafficking can be faced head-on, because the challenge corruption pose is daunting and pervasive, it deprives governments of resources needed to fight other challenges and to provide sustainable development to citizens.

The situation we have seen in Nigeria is that corrupt government officials and their private sector collaborators use fronts and ownership structures that do not provide sufficient information about the true nature and identities of the persons behind the illicit funds and transfer same to safe havens in foreign lands. This alone, makes it hard for anti-corruption agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to combat this menace.

This problem is not only about anonymity but also on the lack of transparency on the part of the foreign on the part of the countries where the monies are taken to. Influential government officials use their position to steal government resources and extract maximum rent from the country’s mineral resources with minimum or no benefit to the Nigerian citizens. Billions of dollars are lost annually in royalties and fees for licenses which politically connected individuals appropriate to themselves using fronts and secret ownership arrangement.

Nigeria like many other developing countries have greatly suffered from the many evil hands of corruption both from within and outside. The implication is that, the monies which should otherwise be used in Nigeria for development projects are stolen and taken to other countries which are already developed for investment purposes and Nigeria will be left with nothing to show.

Prevention and the need to be proactive in this fight plays a vital role in ensuring that funds and assets are not stolen and taken out of the country in the first place. Explaining ways by which illicit financial flows can be tamed, chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa stated that there is need to ensure that corrupt officials don’t even have the opportunity to take these fund out. “It is one thing for the properties to be taken to the UAE and the UK; it is another thing that we here in Nigeria are ensuring that you don’t have the opportunity to take them out in the first place. That is why we want to be proactive in our approach to law enforcement and the fight against corruption in this country”, he said.

Another way of fighting illicit financial flows is identification and repatriation of these proceeds of crime, especially assets. This task is not easy because it involves the countries where the assets and funds are taken to. Because these countries too have their laws, processes and procedures and this is where bilateral and multi-lateral agreement plays a role. Countries involved need to sit on the same table to discuss issue of information gathering, sharing, investigation as well as repatriation of these ill-gotten assets.

There is need for a multifaceted effort in addressing the issue of illicit financial flows and adoption of the 2030 agenda which provides path to financial integrity for sustainable development, showing how to redirect the resources lost from illicit flow to finance the implementation of the 2030 agenda and the achievement of the sustainable development goals. There is also the need to strengthen regional and international systems which will create a strong legal, taxation and financial justice system.

• Abbas Abubakar Umar

Jabi, Abuja.