The World Bank says its time to stop illicit financial flows
September 14th, 2009
Ngozi Ikonjo-Iweala is MD of the World Bank.
She’s spoken here and is saying that the importance of the issue we’re talking about – illicit financial flows – has not yet struck home. It’s time for it to take centre stage.
She has directly endorsed action. Direct action, on the street, she says.
She’s directly thanked the small coterie of us from civil society who are working on this issue – and has said this is the #1 issue for civil society and development now. There must be, she says, people on the streets demanding change. Placards are needed. And we must hit financial centres very hard. And we need to get it back. As she says – we need to hit Dubai and Jersey and Switzerland hard (her choice of locations).
And she says this is a developed country problem. It’s the developed countries that have to close these places down. There must, she says, be no pl;ace to hide.
She says, this is it: this is the future of development.
Good again to hear measures we have issue being echoed by someone with real world experience in Nigeria on this issue.