Banks struggle as pandemic exposes opportunities for fraud says Bolero chief
The CEO of trade finance digitisation provider Bolero has written an article on risk mitigation in which he says that opportunities for fraud exposed by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic add weight to a growing body of opinion in support of the argument for…
AfCFTA planners mull measures to curb IFFs
The African Union (AU) has announced that its Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration is contemplating measures for the envisaged the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that would specifically address the issue of illicit financial flows (IFFs). AfCFTA…
Coronavirus funding threatens Nigeria’s efforts to tackle IFFs
Funding to tackle illicit financial flows (IFFs) out of Nigeria is under threat as a result of cuts made in the country’s 2021 budget. Despite announcing a record naira 13.5 billion naira (N13.5 billion – US$35.5 billion) budget to tackle the negative impacts of the…
African conference on IFFs and taxation focuses on coronavirus impacts
The 8th Pan Africa Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation held in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, focused on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and on the urgent need for African countries to optimise public revenues from their natural resources. If managed well, the…
Despite coronavirus impacts FATF removes Iceland and Mongolia from grey list, remains committed to AML/CFT brief
Due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the work of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been significantly disrupted this year, including its work determining ‘jurisdictions under increased monitoring’. These jurisdictions – often referred to externally as countries on the FATF grey list…
WBG officials call for more focus on those who receive bribes and other proceeds of corruptions
The World Bank Group (WBG) has recognised that the response to the coronavirus crisis is likely to increase corruption risks and practices that contribute to illicit financial flows (IFFs), and may also introduce new risks according to two senior WBG officials. Giuliana Dunham Irving and Ryan…
Coronavirus pandemic likely to weaken Latin American capacity to curb money
With the coronavirus pandemic now likely to weaken state capacity across Latin America, money laundering – including trade-based money laundering (TBML) – will continue to flourish, according to two analysts based in separate Washington-based think tanks. Andrés Martínez-Fernández and Julia Yansura sayweakened capacity to fight…
Can AfCFTA do enough to counter trade misinvoicing in Africa?
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to make intra-African trade easier and more profitable for businesses across the continent. But if AfCFTA is implemented there are concerns that it will not do enough to counter trade misinvoicing and other illicit financial flows (IFFs)…
Coronavirus disrupting TBML flows from US drug sales
Some analysts have suggested that chaos in the illegal narcotics trade’s supply chains and financing operations due to coronavirus pandemic impacts may push drug barons towards trade-based money laundering (TBML) operations (Trade-based Financial Crime, 24 April 2020). But data recently released suggests that the proceeds…
Scale and scope of IFFs increasing due to coronavirus
The scale and scope of illicit financial flows (IFFs) could be increasing as authorities are distracted and overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI). The Washington-based think tank that focuses on IFFs says concerns are especially acute in…
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