FG laments illicit financial flows, says $400bn laundered by corrupt leaders

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri – Abuja

The Federal Government has alleged that over $400billion was
laundered and stashed abroad by corrupt leaders in the
country and their foreign accomplices, including multinational
companies.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice, Abubakar Malami, who made the disclosure in a
speech he presented at the eighth session of the Conference
of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against
Corruption in the United Arab Emirate, UNCAC, decried that
illicit financial flows from the country are foreign havens.
Malami is the head of Nigeria’s delegation to the conference
that kicked off Monday.
The AGF, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on
Media and Public Relations, Dr. Umar Gwandu, and made
available to newsmen, noted with great concern the incidence
of illicit financial flows which he said goes through the
financial systems annually, particularly from developing to
developed economies.
“The quantum of these illicit flows which are majorly proceeds
of crime undermines local currencies, constitutes a threat to
the economy, and enhances the risk of huge amounts of
money flowing into channels such as organized crimes and
terrorism”, he was quoted to have stated.
He said the Nigerian government has taken drastic measures
to address the problem in order to ensure that financial
institutions in the country and banks, are not used as conduits
for such illicit transactions.
“To dissuade the perpetrators of this anomaly including
financial institutions who act as enablers, State Parties should
ensure that illicit financial flows, when tracked, do not remain
in the custody of enabling financial institutions, but should be
transferred into escrow account, preferably in Development
Banks pending return to countries of origin,” he added.
According to the AGF, “Bad eggs among public officials have
been compromised by multinational companies and our
resources looted and diverted through inflated contracts”.
Malami noted that with the return of democratic governance in
1999, Nigeria recorded significant progress in the fight against
corruption.
“We have enacted legal frameworks and established several
dedicated
institutions focused on preventing and combatting diverse
manifestations of corruption”.
He said the Federal Government has established numerous
policies to promote transparency and accountability so as to
prevent corruption before it occurs, using the institution of
mechanisms that ensure data–policy nexus and inter-agency
coordination.
He also identified such a policy to include the establishment
of and robust access to information regimen in the Freedom
of Information Act, thus ensuring increased transparency and
accountability.
“We have committed to the Open Government Partnership and
beneficial ownership disclosure and adopted a roadmap for
implementation. A fewdays ago we launched two significant initiatives: The Open
Treasury Initiative which establishes a financial transparency
portal to keep the public informed about financial transactions
within a specified threshold, on a daily basis, and a pilot
Beneficial Ownership register focused on the extractive
sector.”
Malami said in realization of the necessity of an effective
Criminal Justice System for investigating and sanctioning
corruption, Nigeria, embarked on the active implementation of
the Justice Sector Reform Strategy that would cover issues
such as International Cooperation Mechanisms, Mutual Legal
Assistance, and reform of the Criminal Justice System.
“Proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows constitute a
huge chunk of resources needed for sustainable development
but are regularly diverted from victim States,” he added.
Consequently, Malami called for simplification of evidentiary
requirements and other mutual legal assistance procedures as
appropriate to enhance international cooperation under the
Convention.
He said Nigeria believes that the Conference of States Parties
has a vital role to play in identifying the most effective means
of overcoming existing legal obstacles to asset recovery.