Africa Excluded From the Arrangement

The arrangement does not include African countries, whose poorest have suffered due to externalization of funds by corrupt leaders and corporate beneficiaries of sweetheart contracts. The bulk of the illicit flows are allegedly facilitated by European banks, particularly those in Switzerland.

According to an African Union-commissioned report, $60 billion in illicit financial flows leaves Africa through looting and tax evasion every year – no mean figure for a continent that must be addressing underdevelopment and improving citizens’ wellbeing. In the wake of the Panama Papers scandal, for example, it was revealed that patients in Uganda were sleeping on the floor of an under-resourced hospital while just next door a foreign-owned oil company was greasing government and military officials’ hands, and stashing its money in offshore tax havens.

Mining is the biggest income source for many African countries. Theft is widespread in the sector.
Swiss banks minded the safes of corrupt African leaders like Mobutu Sese Seko and Sani Abacha, while the military dictators were embezzling public funds both to deny and violate the rights of their citizens. In the 1990s, Abacha hid $800 million in Swiss bank accounts while Mobutu’s millions, accumulated from Zaire coffers across decades, were controversially unfrozen to his son rather than the country, following the dictator’s death.

Justice has been legally incapacitated on Swiss turf so that stopping the illicit flow of public funds could be more effective than trying to recover them. The move to automatically share bank account data could significantly pre-empt looting and tax evasion. Since governments are often part of the problem, more civic engagement, escalating to regional institutions, in Switzerland and other tax havens, can build on the latest development to bring some form of respite to poorer citizens.

According to Reuters, the initial move still allows citizens secrecy for their domestic bank accounts, for example while keeping an eye on tax-evading professionals. This could help keep pressure on tax fraudsters while respecting citizens’ privacy.

Does maintaining bank secrecy, in the manner Swiss banks are notorious for, matter? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: news.bitcoin.com