The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, has canvassed the payment of interests on stolen funds by benefiting foreign nations as part of measures to redress the menace of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).
The ICPC boss also disclosed that the Federal Government of Nigeria was currently reviewing legacy transactions in oil and gas, tax investments and the use of waivers in Nigeria in order to curb IFFs.
Owasanoye, who made this known at the International Conference on IFFs and Asset Recovery, held at the ICPC Headquarters, Abuja, said illegal movements of funds from African countries abroad has made the continent to be the biggest victim of IFFs.
He urged foreign beneficiaries of IFFs to deduct loans to African countries from the illegal funds in their possessions, and returned the outstanding amount with interest to the continent.
“The money should also be returned with interests as they have been in use over there. The money should be placed in an Escrow account, and a regional development bank that knows how to manage money should be in charge of such funds.”
A member of the Thabo Mbeki Panel on Illicit Financial Flows out of Africa, Ms. Souad Aden Osman, said that efforts to stop IFFs were more critical now than ever due to the huge level of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa.
In her lead presentation titled “Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR), Osman urged African countries to mount a coordinated effort against IFFs by taking action and speaking with one voice to recover stolen funds.
In his contribution, the Chairman African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption (AU-ABC), Hon. Luis Andriamifidy, identified some of the challenges the Council face in repatriation of IFFs to include: the matter of sovereignties of countries involved, a common legal framework to be adopted, and how to proceed with court processes especially on admissibility of evidence, among others.
The Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Francis Ben Kaifala, lamented the issue of cultural differences and how asset recovery has not taken root in many African countries unlike Nigeria and Kenya.
In her lead presentation during the second plenary session, a member of the United Nations High Level Panel on IFF (FACTI Panel), Irene Ovonji-Odida, expressed the hope that the conference will result in an increased understanding of IFFs and commitment to action which is needed to curb it.
In his contribution, the Chief Executive Officer, Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU), Don Deya, opined that sustaining political will was key to the issue of IFFs.
Alvin Mosioma, Executive Director of Tax Justice Network Africa, in his contribution, also said that the problem was the lack of political will to concretise and transfer talk to action on the issue of IFFs.
On his part, a reporter with Agence ECOFIN, Togo, Fiacre Kakpo, said Africa needed to take the bull by the horn by asking the international community to stop IFFs if they are not truly encouraging it.