Illicit financial flows cause tax losses of $416bn in the global South. This is money that could enable governments to deliver much-needed public services, and bring us closer to a world where all experience dignity, equality and justice. However, what has been missing until now has been a robust definition of IFFs. Governments of the global North insist on a legalistic definition that would only capture flows of money universally accepted as being illegal, eg, money laundering or corruption.
"However, we and many of our partners in the global South believe what matters is not whether flows of money or tax practices are legal, but whether they are abusive, harmful or limit governments’ ability to deliver on their human rights obligations" state Christian Aid and their partners."That’s why we call for the debate around IFFs to shift towards a rights-based one. We want the definition of IFFs broadened to refer to ‘cross-border flows of money that are either illegal or abusive of laws in their origin, or during their movement or use’. It is not about whether it’s illegal, but immoral".
You can read the report here.
