Illicit Financial Flows Threatening Economic Stability

The Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Dr Adelabu Adedeji, says illicit financial flows, unless checked, will continue to significantly erode domestic revenues, enable corruption, and threaten economic stability and sustainable development.

The presidential aide spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a one-day hybrid sensitisation workshop on the “Published Guidelines for Private Sector Response to Illicit Financial Flows Vulnerabilities in Nigeria.”

The workshop was organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

Adedeji said, “Stemming illicit financial flows has recently topped global discussion, given its negative impact on global development agenda as well as the governance challenge it has generated through time.

“The IFFs, unless checked, will continue to significantly erode domestic revenues, enable corruption, threaten economic stability and sustainable development, divert money from public priorities as well as hamper government’s efforts to mobilise domestic resources and recover better.

“In Nigeria and across the African continent, we continue to 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, exploitation and under-invoicing of natural resources, organised crimes, and corruption.”