FIRS Organizes National Conference to Combat Illicit Financial Flows
By Patience Ikpeme
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has finalized arrangements to host a two-day national conference focused on combating Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).
This initiative forms part of FIRS’s broader efforts to protect Nigeria’s financial integrity by tackling the issue, which significantly impacts revenue collection.
According to a statement from Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, the conference will take place on July 22 and 23. The gathering, with the theme “Combating Illicit Financial Flows: Strengthening Nigeria’s Domestic Resource Mobilisation,” is scheduled to be held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
The statement indicates that the conference will provide a forum for discussing actionable solutions, reinforcing the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting financial integrity and ensuring that domestic revenue is fully harnessed for national development. Experts from various fields will attend the event, including policymakers, tax administrators, law enforcement agencies, anti-corruption agencies, financial experts, and international stakeholders.
Irene Ovonji-Odida, a key member of the United Nations High Level Panel on IFFs (also known as the FACTI Panel), will deliver a keynote address. Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of State for Finance, will chair the conference.
Adedeji, as quoted in the statement, explained that the conference will bring attention to the agency’s “intensified efforts in tackling IFFs, including strengthening compliance mechanisms, enhancing beneficial ownership transparency, and leveraging technology to detect and deter tax evasion, trade mispricing, and other illicit outflows.”
He noted that FIRS had previously initiated measures to address IFFs, approving capacity-building programs for its staff on identifying and blocking IFFs, and on increasing revenue collection from multinational corporations. To sustain these efforts, FIRS also approved the establishment of the Proceeds of Crime Management and Illicit Financial Flows Coordinating Directorate (POCM-IFF), which plays a central role in confronting the problem. Taxes, he conveyed, contribute strategically to the nation’s economy.
The Federal Government of Nigeria had earlier established an Inter-Agency Committee on Stopping IFFs from Nigeria in its bid to curb these illicit flows. This committee comprises representatives from FIRS, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, among other bodies.
Ovonji-Odida has declared her expectation that the conference will lead to a greater understanding of IFFs and a stronger commitment to the actions required to curb them.
