The government has announced a new aid package which it says will ‘stop dirty money in its tracks’ by creating new centres of British expertise in major financial hubs, with the aim of tackling illicit financial flows in Africa
The support programmes, announced during Prime Minister Theresa May’s recent visit to Kenya, are designed to help strengthen criminal justice systems and will utilise the expertise of British asset recovery experts in order to recover millions of pounds of illegal assets in developing countries.
The package will create new centres of British expertise in major financials hubs to tackle financial crime more effectively, and will strengthen efforts in southern and eastern Africa to recover illegal money flows from crime, fraud and corruption through the courts.
It also includes support for the Kenyan authorities to bring people committing financial crimes to justice by helping to identify proceeds of crime and seizing criminal property, as well as training and mentoring for law enforcement officials in southern and eastern Africa.
During May’s visit, Harriett Baldwin, minister for Africa, signed a new agreement with the Kenyan government to return stolen and corrupt funds that have been moved out of Kenya and are hidden in banks in the UK.
All stolen funds found and returned to Kenya will be used exclusively for development projects, in sectors including education and health. This includes over £3.5m in proceeds of crime seized by courts in Jersey.
Penny Mordaunt, international development secretary, said: ‘Financial crime hurts the world’s poorest the most, taking money away from schools, hospitals and other vital services in developing countries. Today’s UK aid package will stop dirty money in its tracks and send a message to crooks that we are clamping down on spaces for them to hide their illegally gained wealth.
‘Even small decreases in illegal financial flows will give developing countries millions of pounds more to invest in their economies, helping them to stand on their own two feet and create a more prosperous future.’
The African Union and United Nations High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) from Africa claim that over the last 50 years, Africa is estimated to have lost in excess of $1 trillion in IFFs.
Report by Pat Sweet
