Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo will declare open a 3-day Conference on Promoting International Cooperation in Combating Illicit Financial Flows and Enhancing Asset Recovery to Foster Sustainable Development in Abuja on Monday.
It is aimed at closing the knowledge gap on the nature and effect of annual cross border flow of proceeds of criminal activities mostly from developing and transitional economies to developed economies sustained by a global shadow financial system.
A press statement made available to newsmen in Abuja yesterday by Comrade Salihu Othman Isah, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN reveals that the conference will be hosted at the State Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, State House, Abuja.
The release stated that the event is being convened under the auspices of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Comrade Isah disclosed that also to be discussed at the parley is illegal practices such as direct looting, money laundering, tax evasion, profit shifting by multinational corporations, trade mispricing among other topics.
“The event will consider how to enhance the asset return process and diminish delays, bottlenecks and apathy that currently characterize the asset return process. Furthermore, the use of returned stolen assets for SDG and human rights will be in focus.”
The keynote speaker will be Mr. Akere Muna, Chair, International Anti-Corruption Conference Council, former Vice-Chair, Transparency International (TI), and Member, African Union High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows otherwise known as the Thabo Mbeki Panel.
The conference hopes to come up with resolutions on modalities for promoting international cooperation in combating illicit financial flows and enhancing asset recovery and the role that appropriate use of returned assets can play in achieving sustainable development goals.
According to the organizers, the event will attract political leaders, Ministers, parliamentarians, senior government officials, private sector executives, experts, representatives of regional and international organizations, banking institutions, civil society organizations, and key stakeholders across Africa and globally.
