New short film from UNECA outlines damage caused by illicit financial flows
August 1st, 2016
In the span of just fifteen minutes, some of the leading economic thinkers from across the African continent manage to give an incredibly detailed, but accessible, overview of the problem of illicit financial flows. The new mini-documentary, produced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), looks at the problem of illicit flows, and has an array of interviews with members of the Mbeki High Level Panel on IFFs, who released a groundbreaking report on IFFs in the African context in 2015. The documentary also seeks to show the problem visually, outlining a number of case studies through animation:
According to estimates from our colleagues at Global Financial Integrity, illicit financial outflows on the continent amount to roughly 6.1% of annual GDP. And the Mbeki report estimates that between USD$50-$60 billion is lost to illicit financial flows every single year.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the video is the spotlight it shines on a civil society campaign called ‘Stop the Bleeding’, launched last year, which is a project of five African civil society groups, including Tax Justice Network – Africa, a member of the FTC. The campaign aims to bring awareness to the general public, while mobilizing citizens to action.
You can watch the full video on YouTube, or below here: