illicit financial flows Archives

Illicit financial flows from Africa: ‘Progress is small, small’

By: Blair Glencorse, Executive Director of the Accountability Lab and the IBA’s Innovation Fellow 2017. This article was originally published by the International Bar Association. The huge illicit financial flows from Liberia that are undermining its development reflect the wider problems that persist across Africa. Illegal transactions are, in some ways, easier than ever, but there are promising developments at corporate, government and international levels. 'Pay your taxes to develop Mama Liberia,’ says a Ministry of Finance billboard on one of Monrovia’s main thoroughfares, referring colloquially to the West African country. As we drove past recently – dodging potholes on the [...]

Building Business Through Trust in Africa

By Blair Glencorse. Originally published on the GE Ideas Lab Blog. Blair Glencorse, Founder and Executive Director, The Accountability Lab, USA; Global Agenda Council on Transparency & Anti-Corruption at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2015 in Cape Town. Copyright by World Economic Forum / Jakob Polacsek There is no doubt that Africa’s success deserves to be recognized and celebrated. At the recent World Economic Forum on Africa, much was made of Africa’s clear and well-documented progress. FDI in the continent has more than tripled in the past 15 years for example, while GDP is expected to rise by over [...]