ESA-Obs, NAS-Obs, WEA-Obs

Africa and the Global Illicit Economy: The Podcast

... Every two weeks, we will be looking at corruption, illicit financial flows, gangs, the role of foreign corporations, the political economy of crime, and the enabling environment that has made Africa vulnerable to the growth of organized crime. Drawing on the Glob...

Posted on 09 Jun 2020

Author(s): Lindy Mtongana

Private Sector

Not above the law? The role of lawyers in combating money laundering and illicit asset flows.

Not above the law?

...rnmental authorities and their fidelity to their clients. This becomes particularly problematic when, as intermediaries in business transactions, they become aware of, or are requested to facilitate, illicit financial flows (IFFs). Lawyers can become complicit in, or even initiate, economic crime, as the case studies in this report show. They may become complicit through negligence. The extent to which this occurs on a ...

Posted on 31 Oct 2018

Author(s): Charles Togarepi Goredema

Development Dialogue, Gold Watch, Protecting Politics

IFFs: The Economy of Illicit Trade in West Africa

IFFs: The Economy of Illicit Trade in West Africa

...ts, reinforcing the links between inequality, criminal activity and violence. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows has estimated that illicit financial flows (IFFs) from Africa could amount to as much as USD 50 billion (US dollars) per year. Although the figures on IFFs are heavily disputed, current analyses agree that IFFs exceed the amount of ODA prov...

Posted on 21 Feb 2018

Author(s): Tuesday Reitano, Mark Shaw, Marcena Hunter, Karl Lallerstedt, Rob McCusker

Private Sector, Protecting Politics

Shifts in the global illicit economy and the future impact on Europe

Posted on 11 Sep 2017

Crime & Conflict, Crime Terror Nexus, Protecting Politics

Captured by Captagon? Lebanon’s evolving illicit drug economy

Captured by Captagon?

...nal cooperation, and limited domestic legislation in this area The report recommends an increased focus on the Lebanon’s drug economy. Research for this report indicates the widespread impact of illicit financial flows on the economy. The prominence that the Captagon trade has assumed (a global illicit industry worth an estimated US $ 1 billion a year), along with the production of other drugs, is worsening an alre...

Posted on 05 Jun 2017

Author(s): Jeremy Arbid

Gold Watch, Latinoamérica y el Caribe

Follow the Money: Financial Flows linked to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

Follow the Money: Financial Flows linked to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

...m businesses operating in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector. The handbook will help actors to: • increase their knowledge and understanding of financial flows, in particular illicit financial flows (IFFs)1 linked to the ASGM sector; • build their capacity to analyse and effectively capitalise on opportunities; and • mitigate and respond to challenges and obstacles IFFs pose to the formali...

Posted on 17 Mar 2017

Author(s): Marcena Hunter, Estelle Levin-Nally

Gold Watch

Case Study: Financial Flows linked to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Sierra Leone

Financial Flows linked to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Sierra Leone

Posted on 11 Mar 2017

Author(s): Marcena Hunter, Estelle Levin-Nally

Gold Watch, Latinoamérica y el Caribe

Mercury: illicit flows with damaging impacts

...g taking place under the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The Global Initiative has increasingly engaged on the topic of gold. From human trafficking and organized crime in Latin America to tracing illicit financial flows in West Africa, the Global Initiative’s work has highlighted the significant role gold plays in delivering profits to criminal actors, enabling money laundering, and undermining development efforts...

Posted on 04 Jan 2017

Crime & Conflict

The nexus of conflict and illicit drug trafficking – Syria and the wider region

The Nexus of Conflict and Illicit Drug Trafficking

... Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP). During the Q&A session participants asked questions regarding the virtual black market, political will of financial institutions to investigate illicit financial flows, and a possible connection between different conflict zones such as between Libya and Syria. Evidence suggests that social media (such as snapchat and whatsapp) play an increasing role in communicati...

Posted on 06 Oct 2016

Global Initiative

Conference report: Trails of Insecurity – Illicit Migration as a Source of Threat Financing and Criminal Resourcing in Africa

Conference report: Trails of Insecurity – Illicit Migration as a Source of Threat Financing and Criminal Resourcing in Africa

Posted on 30 May 2016

Global Initiative

Opportunity lost? Countering illicit trade, freeing up development finance and bolstering state resilience

...ca (GIABA) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The discussion will also inform joint work by the United Nations and the OECD looking at policy coherent approaches to combating illicit financial flows, the subject of a related side event at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. Moderated by Jon Lomoy, Director, Development Co-operation Directorate, OECD Panellists:...

Posted on 12 Jul 2015