Ngozi Ikonjo-Iweala is MD of the World Bank.
She’s spoken here and is saying that the importance of the issue we’re talking about — illicit financial flows — has not yet struck home. It’s time for it to take centre stage.
She has directly endorsed action. Direct action, on the street, she says.
She’s directly thanked the small coterie of us from civil society who are working on this issue — and has said this is the #1 issue for civil society and development now. There must be, she says, people on the streets demanding change. Placards are needed. And we must hit financial centres very hard. And we need to get it back. As she says — we need to hit Dubai and Jersey and Switzerland hard (her choice of locations).
And she says this is a developed country problem. It’s the developed countries that have to close these places down. There must, she says, be no pl;ace to hide.
She says, this is it: this is the future of development.
Good again to hear measures we have issue being echoed by someone with real world experience in Nigeria on this issue.
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Quite right too. And most of these illegal flows have their origin in either land rental value or resource rental value. Governments must collect them at source. It is not difficult technically, it is the will that is lacking. And those that are concerned about the problem seldom give the right practical advice. But trying to collect these revenue flows downstream is like trying to catch a horse once it has bolted.
I forget to check the notify box – this can be deleted.
Isn’t it the huge multi-national companies doing the illicit financial flows, the stripping of minerals and resources, corruption for contracts, transfer pricing etc.
So would it not be more logic to go after the actual offenders and punish them….the large multi-national corporations themselves?
Trying to Blanket punish (as she says) just the “offshore” financial service centres is rather like finding out the “liquid explosive plotters” placed a phone call from England to Pakistan that was transfer through Ireland, and then trying to get the world to nuclear bomb Dublin for it while letting the Bombers around walk free.
Punish the offenders, it is always a good place to start
Creg
Get real
If you know what I do you’d realise that is my maximum focus
It’s why I am sitting in the World Bank right now about to talk on that very point
You really need to get over your persecution complex
But those who handle stolen property are also important
Richard
SO she should include London and New York then, rather than those named?
I’m very suprised that Richard hasn’t mentioned the clean bill of health given to Jersey by the IMF and congratulted the Island for its status at the forefront of responsible global citizens.
That would be a good opportunity to show that his judgment is based on evidence rather than prejudice.
The big problem is the man & woman in the street hasn’t any real idea of the extent of the international corruption that’s going on & the role that tax havens play in enabling it to flourish. It is only when revelations of corruption come to light (eg: Kaupthing hf, Madoff, Stanford, Turks & Cacos, etc.,) that the public begin to be aware of the extent of this. Then thanks to Richard & others who have ‘inside’ knowledge of ‘how the system works’ & share it that we begin to get a better perspective of what exactly is going on.
The activity to clamp down on terrorist funding & drug trade needs to be extended to embrace all forms of curruption & abuse within ‘the markets’ & the international banking system. It is a moral campaign for social justice for all the people of the world, but politicians are not the best people to advance issues that have morality as one of its driving forces.
New Labour should have been the champion of social justice, but it has become tainted by the very forces against which it ought to be waging war. Unfortunately British society has not been sufficiently outraged to rise up & take to the streets in protest. It is content to wait for the ballot box.
Alas! getting rid of New Labour is no guarantee that a new government will do any better! The manifestos of the opposition parties are unlikely to embrace & uphold the values of which we speak here.
So it’s going to be a long haul… but right is might & justice will be done even if it takes time to bring about a new order that addresses the pressing issues of povery in a world where a few hold all the wealth & power.
Jim4Justice
http://ksfiom-blog.blogspot.com/
“The big problem is the man & woman in the street hasn’t any real idea of the extent of the international corruption that’s going on & the role that tax havens play in enabling it to flourish.”
Yes, that’s why it is good that bodies like the IMF and OECD carry out evidence-based reviews of offshore jurisdictions so that we are able to base our views on facts rather than prejudice.
Why the focus on “tax havens” again I ask
http://www.kyc360.com/hot_topic/show/47
A great example of a UK company doing the bribery and the US fianlly catching up after 10 years.
If you want ot stop corruption the UK should stop blaiming others and clean up their own back yards before blaming others.
Please monitor your own companies and stop deflecting responsiblilty