Illicit Financial Flows: The Elephant in the Room at the EU-Africa Summit
- London Think Africa Press 2014.
- 3p
The article talks of the EU-Africa summit of 2014 major talking points (IFF). Africa and Europe have a unique financial relationship. It is one marked by illicit capital flowing out of African countries and into bank accounts in financial centres across the EU. In 2011 alone, it is estimated that €43.7 billion ($60 billion) left Africa by way of illicit financial flows; this money should have been invested in infrastructure, education and healthcare, all of which are areas highlighted by the EU-Africa Summit.While the origin of illicit financial flows ranges from government embezzlement to human trafficking, and from corporate tax evasion to grand corruption, the destination seems less ambiguous. The end game for most is to move funds to a place where they can be used freely, and preferably, anonymously. Bleeding billions, loopholes in the current global system have fostered a strange breed of companies. These anonymous companies are one of the primary vehicles used to funnel illicit money from Africa into places such as the EU. When authorities try to investigate these entities, it is almost impossible to unravel the web. Money often floats through a labyrinth of different companies, in different jurisdictions, leaving, at best, a confusing and incomplete paper trail.
CAPITAL FLIGHT, CORRUPTION, CROSS- BORDER, GHOST PROJECTS, GOOD GOVERNANCE, NATURAL RESOURCES, TAX EVASION
