FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Illicit Finance Summit delay should be used to launch bold UK leadership against dirty money
The delay to the UK’s Illicit Finance Summit should now be used to deliver a more ambitious and credible push against dirty money, the UK’s leading civil society experts on corruption and illicit finance said today.
The experts, many of whom are on the Summit’s Advisory group, said the additional preparation time should result in stronger proposals, clearer commitments and meaningful outcomes commensurate with the scale of the global illicit finance threat. This should be delivered through senior cross-government buy-in, UK engagement with partner Governments, and extensive engagement with global civil society networks, who will play a crucial role in holding the feet of those who attend to the fire on delivering on their commitments.
The summit, originally scheduled for 23–24 June as a flagship moment in the Government’s drive to work with partners and international financial centres to tackle illicit finance and corruption, has now been postponed to December according to a press release from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) today.
Illicit finance causes immense damage to economies and communities around the world, undermining sustainable economic growth and development, fuelling conflict and organised crime, enabling sanctions evasion, causing devastating environmental damage, and enabling kleptocratic and hostile states to threaten global and economic security.
With the UK preparing to take on leadership roles across the Financial Action Task Force, G20, Open Government Partnership and G7, the civil society experts said Britain has a rare opportunity to drive a step-change in global action against illicit finance. It also has a historic responsibility to do so, given the role that London and the UK’s offshore territories have played as a magnet for dirty money for decades.
That includes using the UK’s convening power to strengthen international cooperation on asset recovery, tackle the professional enablers who help move and conceal dirty money, improve information sharing to stop dirty money earlier and support quicker enforcement, and deepen partnerships with countries most harmed by corruption and illicit financial flows.
Duncan Hames, Director of Policy, Transparency International UK:
“At a time of much instability, the need for concerted action on illicit finance is growing. The Summit should return with greater ambition and a clear willingness to address the UK’s role in facilitating dirty money flows from around the world.”
Thom Townend, Executive Director, Open Ownership:
“The UK’s incoming leadership of the Financial Action Task Force, G20 and G7 is a rare opportunity to drive global progress against illicit finance. The Summit’s credibility will rely on it generating real progress – going beyond political declarations to spearhead action on key issues like faster information sharing so that law enforcement and investigators can actually follow illicit finance across borders.”
Sue Hawley, Executive Director, Spotlight on Corruption:
“Britain’s credibility in delivering the Summit depends on whether it walks the talk on tackling illicit finance. There must be genuine and high level cross-government leadership and a clear step change in the fight against dirty money at home – including stronger enforcement – to deliver on the promise the Summit offers.”
Maira Martini, CEO, Transparency International:
“There are now at least six more months to raise the Summit’s ambition. The test is whether this extra time delivers commitments that tackle the imbalance at the heart of illicit finance: countries facing the greatest harm are often left with the fewest resources to respond, while secrecy, loopholes and enablers in global financial centres continue to facilitate these flows. The Government should ensure these commitments endure beyond December – through the UK’s FATF Presidency and G20 host year. We stand ready to help make that happen.”
Tom Keatinge, Director of the Centre for Finance and Security, RUSI:
“The Summit should ultimately be judged not by whether it takes place, but by whether it delivers lasting progress towards a cleaner, more transparent and fairer global financial system.”
