Dirty Money: Crime, Corruption and Illicit International Cash Flows
| Date | Monday, March 6, 2006 |
| Location | Senate Capitol, Room SC6 |
Raymond Baker, Senior Fellow, Center for International Policy, discusses the challenge posed by illicit cash flows. Illegal cross border transactions are facilitated by an international structure of tax havens, dummy companies and secret accounts, that support international crime and abet terrorism. This shadow financial system which uses both legitimate and illegitimate channels such international banks and multinational companies, avoids or ignores customs, taxes and money laundering laws. It is estimated that these activities drain approximately 500 billion dollars a year from the economies of developing countries, contributing to international crime, economic and political destabilization and poverty. How does this system operate and evade detection? What effect does this have on developing countries and the wider international economy? What tools do we have to tackle and undermine illegal financial transfers?