Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), says Nigeria is losing about 60 per cent of its financial income to illicit financial flows.
Owasanoye said this when a delegation of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) led by its Managing Director, Mr Buki Ponle, visited the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. NAN reports that illicit financial flow, which is illegally transferring money to another country, often occurs through trade over-invoicing. It occurs when exporters or importers deliberately misreport the value, quantity or nature of goods and services in order to evade taxes, take advantage of tax incentives, avoid capital controls or launder money.
According to the ICPC Chairman, illicit financial flow is undermining Nigeris’s economic development. He blamed the corrupt practice on delinquent expatriates who engage in all forms of sharp practices to evade tax and compromise their host country’s internally generated revenue. ” Sharp practice like over invoicing for example is when a commodity that is sold at one dollar out there is tagged $100 here in Nigeria,” he said. Owasanoye, who affirmed the readiness of the agency to tackle such criminal acts, called for support from Nigerians. The ICPC Chairman said focus had remained on corruption among holders of public offices while illicit financial flow is worse. The anti graft chief reiterated the need to end the criminality by foreign companies, saying it remains a threat to the country’s financial stability. READ ALS
