Mexico Promotes Regional Leadership
From April 22 to 24, 2026, Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) presented the results of its estimates of fiscal and commercial financial flows during a regional workshop held in Mexico City and co-organized with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The meeting brought together representatives from the central banks and national statistical offices of the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Honduras, Ecuador, and Bolivia, and established itself as a strategic forum for the regional exchange of experiences, challenges, and statistical progress regarding the measurement of illicit financial flows.
From Methodological Challenges to Regional Exchange
Mexico is the first country to comprehensively apply the international methodologies developed by UNCTAD and UNODC to measure illicit financial flows of a fiscal and commercial nature, as well as those related to criminal activities. This initial implementation highlights the methodological challenges and allowed for the sharing of institutional and statistical elements necessary to achieve measurement, as well as the conditions for making it scalable and sustainable.
This progress has been made possible thanks to technical assistance from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and ECLAC, as well as support from the UNODC–INEGI Center of Excellence on statistical information regarding government, crime, victimization, and justice, particularly for the analysis of illicit financial flows associated with criminal economies.
Global Methodologies for a Global Challenge
The exercises presented here are based on the joint work of the lead agencies for SDG indicator 16.4.1, UNODC and UNCTAD, which developed the Conceptual Framework for the Statistical Measurement of Illicit Financial Flows, approved by the United Nations Statistical Commission. This framework provides a harmonized definition of illicit financial flows (IFFs) and distinguishes between flows generated by tax and trade practices, illicit markets, corruption, and other criminal activities.
Building on this, UNCTAD has developed the Methodological Guidelines for the Measurement of Tax and Trade IFFs, which offer concrete methods, data requirements, and implementation pathways for countries.
Complementarily, UNODC recently published the Guidelines for the Measurement of Crime-Related IFFs, which incorporate pilot experiences in countries such as Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, with estimates for markets such as cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and the smuggling of migrants.
Strengthening Capacities: New Specialized Course on Illicit Financial Flows
To strengthen these capacities at the national and regional levels, a new edition of the online course “Combating Illicit Financial Flows: Understanding Socioeconomic Impacts, Measurement Methodologies, and Policy Interventions” will launch in May 2026, based on the conceptual and methodological frameworks of UNCTAD and UNODC.
The course is free, self-paced, and aimed at statistical staff, public policy makers, tax and justice authorities, researchers, and civil society. It covers conceptual foundations, methods for measuring fiscal, commercial, and criminal IFFs, as well as public policy tools. It is structured into five modules, with the option to advance to an advanced course on measurement.
📌 Dates:
Course 1: May 18 – July 10, 2026
Course 2: July 13 – September 25, 2026
👉 Course registration:
https://forms.office.com/r/Zj4gthuvgX
Toward Integrated Statistical Systems
Mexico’s experience demonstrates that this effort is not an end in itself, but rather the beginning of a long-term transformation toward integrated data ecosystems, greater institutional interoperability, and evidence-based public policies. Strengthening statistical systems is an essential tool for better understanding illicit economies and designing more effective and targeted responses in support of SDG 16 and sustainable development.