Financial Transparency Coalition

“It is no surprise that the Global South is on the front lines of fighting the issue of IFFs – ranging from trade mis-invoicing to tax avoidance and evasion; many such activities continue to be deemed legal and legitimate in developed nations and tax havens. It is therefore a critical need for countries in the

Many experts have called Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania the “next frontier” of gas and oil production. In fact, these reserves have the potential to turn these nations’ economies from “mixed” to “success” stories. One large impediment to this possibility, however, is trade misinvoicing, which occurs on a massive scale. It I so serious that this problem threatens their governments’ ability to capitalize on the potential gains associated with the discovery of oil and gas. The discovery of oil in Kenya and Uganda, and gas in Tanzania has thrust each of these nations into the world’s energy spotlight. In 2006 Uganda...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark / WASHINGTON, DC – The fraudulent misinvoicing of trade is hampering economic growth and potentially resulting in billions of U.S. dollars in lost tax revenue in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda, according to a new report to be published Monday by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advocacy organization.  The study—funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark—finds that the over- and under-invoicing of trade transactions facilitated at least US$60.8 billion in illicit financial flows into or out of the five African countries between 2002 and 2011. “It is...

WASHINGTON, DC – The latest issue of The Economist profiles the problem of trade-based money laundering, which drains hundreds of billions of dollars from developing economies each year, according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization.  The prestigious financial news magazine cites heavily from GFI’s research and experts, while warning that efforts to tackle trade misinvoicing are “the weakest link” in the international effort to fight illicit financial flows.