The Federal Government has appealed to countries that are preferred destinations for illicit financial flows (IFFs) to freeze, seize and repatriate such funds.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs. Zainab Ahmed made the appeal during a virtual International Conference on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Asset Recovery.
According to her, countries that are the main destination for IFFs and their proceeds should take urgent steps to assist in combating this scourge, by preventing the inflow of illicit funds, freezing or seizing assets already in the country, and by ensuring that illicit funds and any proceeds are repatriated.
The resulting domestic revenue losses from IFFs she said “are significant, putting developing countries and the entire African region at risk of not achieving sustainable and inclusive development, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic”.
She said Africa is in a “race to the bottom to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) as a result of the current international tax practices and treaties”.
Mrs Ahmed said in Nigeria and across the African continent, countries “suffer various forms of IFFs, including tax evasion and other harmful tax practices, the illegal export of foreign exchange, abusive transfer pricing, trade mispricing, mis-invoicing of services, illegal exploitation and under-invoicing of natural resources, organised crimes, and corruption”.
The minister warned that “unless checked, IFFs will continue to significantly erode domestic revenues, enable corruption, threaten economic stability and sustainable development, divert money from public priorities and hamper government’s efforts to mobilize domestic resources and recover better.”
