THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Nigeria has lost over $400 billion to foreign havens, Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN) has said.
The minister said the cash was stolen by corrupt leaders and their foreign accomplices including multinational companies.
Malami spoke on Monday (16 December) at the eighth session of the Conference of the State Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Conference is the main policy-making body of the UNCAC. It supports State parties and signatories in their implementation of the Convention.
The Minister said: “Nigeria has noted with great concern the incidence of illicit financial flows which go through the financial systems annually, particularly from developing to developed economies.
addresses the conference in Abu Dhabi/Photo: UNCAC
“The quantum of these illicit flows which are majorly proceeds of crime undermines local currencies, constitutes a threat to the economy, and enhances the risk of huge amounts of money flowing into channels such as organized crimes and terrorism.”
According to him, the government has taken drastic measures to address the problem in order to ensure that Nigerian financial institutions and banks are not used as conduits for these illicit transactions.
He said: “To dissuade the perpetrators of this anomaly including financial institutions who act as enablers, State Parties should ensure that illicit financial flows, when tracked, do not remain in the custody of enabling financial institutions, but should be transferred into escrow account, preferably in Development Banks pending return to countries of origin.
“Bad eggs among public officials have been compromised by multinational companies and our resources looted and diverted through inflated contracts.”
The minister said that with the return of democratic governance in 1999, the country has recorded significant progress in the fight against corruption.
“We have enacted legal frameworks and established several dedicated institutions focused on preventing and combatting diverse manifestations of corruption”, he noted.
He went on: “The Federal Government established numerous policies to promote transparency and accountability and prevent corruption before it occurs through institution of mechanisms that ensure data–policy nexus and inter-agency coordination and established a robust access to information regimen in the Freedom of Information Act, ensuring increased transparency and accountability.
“We have committed to the Open Government Partnership and beneficial ownership disclosure and adopted a roadmap for implementation.
“A few days ago we launched two significant initiatives: The Open Treasury Initiative which establishes a financial transparency portal to keep the public informed about financial transactions within a specified threshold, on a daily basis, and a pilot Beneficial Ownership register focused on the extractive sector.
“In realisation of the necessity for effective Criminal Justice System for investigating and sanctioning corruption, Nigeria is actively implementing the Justice Sector Reform Strategy covering issues such as International Cooperation Mechanisms, Mutual Legal Assistance and reform of the Criminal Justice System.
“Proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows constitute a huge chunk of resources needed for sustainable development but are regularly diverted from victim states.”
The minister called for simplification of evidentiary requirements and other mutual legal assistance procedures as appropriate to enhance international cooperation under the Convention.
© NAN
