$400bn illicit flow: Malami wants simplified global anti-corruption cooperation

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has called for simplification of evidentiary requirements and other mutual legal assistance procedures as appropriate to enhance international cooperation under the Convention.

Addressing the eighth session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in the United Arab Emirate (UNCAC), which opened on Monday, Malami noted that through illicit financial flows, Nigeria has over the years lost more than $400 billion to foreign havens, stolen and expatriated by corrupt leaders and their foreign accomplices including multinational companies.

His Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Umar Jibrilu Gwandu who disclosed this through a press statement stated that Nigeria was worried about the incidence of illicit financial flows which go 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 said the government has taken drastic measures to address the problem in order to ensure that Nigerian financial institutions and banks are not used as conduits for these illicit transactions.

According to the Minister “bad eggs among public officials have been compromised by multinational companies and our resources looted and diverted through inflated contracts”.

ALSO READ: Resign now, Edo APC chairman tells Oshiomhole

To promote transparency, accountability and prevent corruption before it occurs, Malami told his audience that Nigeria has established a robust access to information regimen in the Freedom of Information Act, ensuring increased transparency and accountability.

“We have committed to the Open Government Partnership and beneficial ownership disclosure and adopted a roadmap for implementation.

“A few days 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,” he said.

Malami said in realization the necessity of effective Criminal Justice System for investigating and sanctioning corruption, Nigeria is actively implementing the Justice Sector Reform Strategy covering 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 said.

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.