September 9, 2015
Illicit Outflows average 6.5% of Myanmar’s Official GDP; Technical Smuggling of Imports via Fraudulent Misinvoicing Accounts for 71.0% of Myanmar’s Illicit Inflows Underground Economy Averaged 55.1% of Country’s GDP; Drives and is Driven by Illicit Flows Tax...
September 8, 2015
Washington, DC, September 8, 2015 – Analysis of illicit financial flows (IFFs) in the poorest nations shows that from 2008 – 2012 IFFs swamped national education spending in many countries. The IFF/Education Spending ratios (see below) give an indication of the problem some countries will face in achieving Sustainable Development Goals #4. GFI President Raymond Baker said that the UN commitment to “substantially reduce” IFFs in target 16.4 “is a welcome advance in the fight to curtail the damage illicit flows inflict on children around the globe.”
September 3, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC – Analysis of illicit financial flows (IFFs) by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) shows that over the period 2003-2012 the global volume of IFFs grew by more than nine percent annually (shown in the chart below).
In 2012 (the most recent year for which data are available), illicit flows were estimated at close to $1 trillion. In response to this unfettered surge in illicit capital leaving developing nations, the UN has endorsed target 16.4 in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which commits the global community to “significantly reduce” IFFs by 2030. This UN action “represents an historic moment in development policy given that it is the first time the international community has recognized the illicit flows problem and pledged to address it,” said GFI President Raymond Baker.
July 16, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) welcomes the statements made yesterday by former South African President Thabo Mbeki on illicit financial flows at the third Financing for Development Conference. At an event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Mbeki noted that in order to address the issue of illicit flows “there needs to be a concerted and sustained campaign around the world.” “The principle challenge we face” he said, “is one of implementation.” He expressed optimism about the impact the Financing for Development conference will have on illicit flows noting that there is “a common commitment” to address the problem “at a global level and at a national level.”
July 15, 2015
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Global Financial Integrity (GFI), the Africa Progress Panel (APP) and Jubilee USA applauded the global commitment made today at the Third Financing for Development Conference (FfD3) to reduce the massive flow of illicit funds from developing country economies. For the first time international consensus was reached on the importance of an issue that has been at the forefront of efforts by hundreds of research and development organizations for the last ten years. The negotiations concluded today and formal adoption of the document will take place on Thursday.
July 13, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) is pleased to announce the launch of a new program that seeks to assist developing country governments with increasing domestic resource capture by curtailing trade misinvoicing, and continuing work to educate policy makers about the corrosive impact illicit financial flows have on developing economies.
July 11, 2015
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia / WASHINGTON, DC – The third Financing for Development Conference (FfD) will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 13-16, and Global Financial Integrity will be on the ground advocating for specific, measurable and achievable targets to significantly reduce illicit financial flows.
This process marks a momentous opportunity to create a sustained path for helping developing countries address the nearly US$1 trillion that flows out of their economies illicitly each year. Of that amount approximately $730 billion is moved offshore through trade misinvoicing (i.e. trade fraud). The related tax loss, coupled with the potential investment resources that are lost, represent significant costs to governance and development efforts in poor countries.
June 8, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) expressed disappointment in world leaders Monday for failing to advance efforts to curtail illicit financial flows—particularly in the context of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The G7 failure comes despite a new GFI study released on Wednesday showing the outsized-impact that illicit financial flows (IFFs) have on the poorest countries in the world, and notwithstanding a Friday pledge by UK Prime Minister David Cameron to put corruption on the agenda of the G7 Summit, which concluded today in Germany.