Federal Gov’t Moves To Curb Illicit Financial Flows

The federal government has declared its resolve to reduce the surge of illicit financial flows from Nigeria, describing it as a national and developmental problem that must be dealt with.

Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, and the Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji restated the government’s fresh intolerance for illegal financial flows, calling for the support of other stakeholders to form a united front against the menace.

They stated this at the national conference on illicit financial flows with the theme: “Combating Financial Flows: Strengthening Nigeria’s Domestic Resource Mobilisation” holding in Abuja, noting that Nigeria losses an estimated $18 million annually to illicit financial flows.

The minister said illicit financial flows are not just drain pipes to the nation’s common wealth, they are a national problem, development problem and a national security concern.

“This is to align policy, enforcement and institutional efforts across the board. At the Ministry of Finance, we are fully committed to a multi-agency, multi-stakeholder approach in tackling PBC financial flows,” Dr Uzoka-Anite stated.

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FIRS chairman also said illicit financial flows continue to threaten Nigeria’s sovereignty, saying it become a national imperative to deal with the problem.

He stressed that the FIRS has institutionalised transparency in revenue collection to build public trust while also responding to the challenges facing the sector with a deliberate multi-functional approach.

“We need a concrete action against illicit financial flows,” he remarked at the event.

The government anchors its strategy on three pillars – policy alignment and legislative reform, organising its tax and financial frameworks to reduce the cost that facilitates tax evasion and illicit capital flight.

The conference was organised to spotlight FIRS’ intensified efforts in tackling IFFs, including strengthening compliance mechanisms, enhancing beneficial ownership transparency, and leveraging technology to detect and deter tax evasion, trade mispricing, and other illicit flows.