We shared Mexico’s experience in measuring the global indicator 16.4.1 Illicit Financial Flows in and out of the country

On October 28, 2021, the Center of Excellence in Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization, and Justice (CoE) partook in the 9th Pan-African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation held from 25 to 29 October.

This annual conference brings together stakeholders interested in addressing illicit financial flows to improve resource mobilization in Africa. Attendees include government representatives, civil society, international organizations, legislators, media, academia, and national activists. The conference also seeks to function as a platform to connect problems, propose solutions and explore opportunities for collaboration and common action.

Salomé Flores Sierra, Coordinator of the CoE, shared the experience of the Center with a pilot measurement of indicator 16.4.1 Illicit Financial Flows in and out of Latin America. Based on this pilot, flows estimates associated with drug trafficking were generated for Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. This measurement was carried out between 2018 and 2020 and the results can be found at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/iff_Lac.html.

Other participants of this session were Gamal Ibrahim from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as moderator, Bojan Nastav from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and Diana Camerini from the UNODC Headquarters Office. The last two shared the methodological frameworks developed to measure illicit flows associated with financial and fiscal practices, as well as illicit markets, respectively. In addition, Maxwell Hlorgbey from the National Statistical Office of Ghana presented the studies carried out on the subject in that country.

If you are interested in learning more about the measurement, please write to: unodc-mexico.cde.estadistica@un.org