Reports of Illicit Financial Funds from the East African States in the years of 2004 – 2013!

After reading a Forbes article on Illicit Financial Funds leaving Ethiopia, as they question the need for and the use of donor aid to Ethiopia. I had to read the reports that it partly was based and make my own assumptions. The difference is that I want to focus on the East African Nations and their Illicit Financial Funds that leaves the States. So that the values and the amounts show’s lack of governance and regulation of finance gives way for the African governments and corporations to get away with transferring funds without legal bounds. This is a way of misusing funds and also money laundering through lacking revenue service and authorities to keep up the upkeep of the states. Take a look!

“IFFs are illegal movements of money or capital from one country to another. GFI classifies such flows as illicit if the funds crossing borders are illegally earned, transferred, and/or utilized. If the flow breaks a law at any point, it is illicit” (GFI, 2015).

“African governments have a political interest in IFFs because these flows impact their national development aspirations and encroach on state structures. They therefore have law enforcement and regulatory agencies whose duties include preventing IFFs. Among these are the police, financial intelligence units and anti-corruption agencies. Governments also have customs and revenue services and other agencies whose purposes are thwarted or hindered by IFFs” (IFF, P: 35, 2016).

“The widespread occurrence of IFFs in Africa also points to a governance problem in the sense of weak institutions and inadequate regulatory environments. IFFs accordingly contribute to undermining state capacity. To achieve their purposes, the people and corporations behind IFFs often compromise state officials and institutions. Left unchecked, these activities lead to entrenched impunity and the institutionalization of corruption” (IFF, P: 51, 2016)

“Most African countries do not have enough highly trained lawyers, accountants and tax experts to carry out the oversight functions to prevent or punish perpetrators of illicit financial outflows. The few that exist are often overworked and unable to prepare sufficiently to take on top-class representing large corporations” (IFF, P: 72, 2016).

Illicit Financial Funds ranking in the years of 2004 – 2013:

Nation	IFFs	Ranking
Burundi	$87m	124
Congo (DRC)	$225m	107
Djibouti	$375m	96
Ethiopia	$2,583m	46
Eritrea	$38m	133
Kenya	$83m	125
Rwanda	$359m	97
Somalia	$0m	147
Sudan	$1,311m	67
Tanzania	$482m	90
Uganda	$715m	78

*(in millions of U.S. dollars, nominal)

* Global Financial Integrity December Report 2015

Total IFFs in the years of 2004 – 2013 (GER+HMN)

Nation	Total IFFs
Burundi	$866m
Congo (DRC)	$2,254m
Djibouti	$3,745m
Ethiopia	$25,835m
Eritrea	$115m
Kenya	$829m
Rwanda	$3,589m
Somalia	$0m
Sudan	$13,115m
Tanzania	$4,820m
Uganda	$7,149m

*(in millions of U.S. dollars, nominal)

* Global Financial Integrity December Report 2015

* “Trade misinvoicing (GER) dominates measurable illicit outflows, averaging 83.4 percent of total illicit outflows during the years 2004 to 2013. However, there has been a noticeable growth in the hot money narrow (HMN) estimate of balance of payment leakages over those years as well. Though initially only accounting for 6.9 percent of illicit outflows in 2004, HMN rose to 19.4 percent of illicit flows by 2013” (GFI, P: 10, 2015).

If you look at the charts there are some monies that is missing and gone away on all sorts of schemes and tax exemptions, all sort of added invoicing or other types of financial instruments to make sure the monies doesn’t end where they are supposed to be. The East African states have misused giant amount of funds.

Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda are topping the list. What is weird for me and the report it is not specifying the Sudan as the Khartoum republic or putting South Sudan alone! So the report and the values put on South Sudan, which was independent in 2011, there do not know what of part of Sudan who has illicit funds. Still, the values and the amount of million dollars Illicit Financial Funds (IFFs) from Ethiopia for instance. You can wonder how much of the government budget that is eaten by this sort of financial mismanagement and misuse of public funds. The reserves and state coffers have to be hit when it is these amounts of dollars that are lost. Uganda have also gotten rid of giant amount of funds, these is 10 higher than the revelation during the Oil Probe with the 2.4 Trillion shillings, which is about $640-700m dollars. That we’re oil revenue that has not been remitted to the state, just these values is ten-times of what was revealed in the Ugandan courts. So there is other revenue that the State House, Bank of Uganda and Uganda Revenue Authority not have complied to or have registered as there is a loss of $7,149 million dollars.

These is just two financial instruments as the HMN and the GER that is explained under the table, the other ways of misusing funds, I haven’t even covered. This is just how much that is miss-invoicing and Hot Money Narrow, the others can be shown at another time. The numbers shown here alone show the extent of misuse of funds in a decade. That is the public loss and the state coffers that been looted by the regime and their lack of will of following and regulating the financial markets. Therefore, the state and institutions does not have the will or capacity to follow the money. This shouldn’t be evident, but it is and not a good look. Peace.

Reference:

Illicit Financial Flows iff – ‘Report of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa’

Global Financial Integrity – ‘Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013’ (December 2015)

Opinion: A little rant to the long serving Presidents out there; I had too after the NBS TV Uganda 100 days since M7 stole the Election BS recently…

With the NBS TV Uganda who wanted to ask President Museveni how he felt after his first 100 days into his 5^th official term… how he felt of his achievements as Executive after a hundred days we’re the journalist questions to the man who have ruled since 1986. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has run the Ugandan Republic for over 10950 days! So the question was blurred out and surely lost sight of the reality of their long serving Executive.

The same can be said with President Robert Mugabe who is heated and demonstrated against in Zimbabwe. In a country with fiscal economic issues and loss of agricultural output together with weaken production as the El Nino has hurt the economy more. Together with rampant corruption and a Zanu-PF Elite who are more concern with their luxurious vehicles in Harare than the empty stomachs of the poor working class. This happens while the Police are brutalizing the demonstrators and the ones speaking against the government are either harassed or detained. Even hurt so they end up at the Hospital. So the dire oblivion for the economic landscape as the tension between the citizens and draconian state will not dissolve overnight.

Hon. Kemi Adeosun said this on the 18^th August: “The Economy is challenged and people are extremely frustrated, and we need to rebuild fundamentality. We need to prioritize… We need to realize that with the collapse of commodity prices. We don’t have enough  foreign exchange to buy as many imported goods as we like to, so when there is import substitution, we must embrace it”.

When the Financial Minister says this as the Opposition are harassed and the public is silence and more draconian laws like Cyber Crime laws coming in Parliament. Show’s the ability of Zimbabwean regime wishes to push laws to silence social media and other dissidents as the policies and the regulations of Zanu-PF haven’t born fruits. This has to be hurtful for the President who has had years upon years to build, instead has skimmed money for himself and his elite.

Therefore with the knowledge of President Museveni (Sudan), President Deby (Chad), President Dos Santos (Angola) , President Nkurunziza (Burundi) , President Kagame (Rwanda), President Kabila (DRC), President Bashir (Sudan), President Afewerki (Eritrea), President Guelleh (Djibouti) and President Mugabe (Zimbabwe) has all been sitting a long time and has nothing new to show (and surely I could given some honourable mentions that I haven’t said). They can’t and they are not hungry to deliver. If they deliver or does anything profound it would be by rare luck or a new cash-cow for their elites and the political affiliates.

It is a reason why the Members of Parliament are greedy, why the corrupt behavior is happening and why the transparency is so low. The Executives who runs for life and runs for decades upon decades wish to run the game without question. That is their wish and their ways of assembling the needed riches for themselves.

President Museveni might drop by district and deliver some equipment and check of a few million shillings, but the depleted hospitals and schools isn’t built on wink and nudge from the master. While the inflation and the unstable currency doesn’t make the investors safe to have a haven of business in Uganda. This together with everything is connected to the President and his entourage as the family of Museveni is connected to all kind of business and agreements. Land is being delivered to the Elite or Financial backers, while locals and Internal Displaced Persons are living decades-on in camps. So the Museveni cannot drop a new sense of accountability as the walking budget isn’t promising anything new or creating a solid foundation now as that is not in his interest.

The interest of these long serving leaders isn’t to have strong institutions; they want them weak and keep people loyal around them. The Electorate and Citizens are not really important they are only important when they are pawns useful to trade aid or trade agreements of government loans to secure fiscal funding of the Financial Year and the Budget.  

These long serving leaders have control over foreign exchange, central banks and also the businesses that are vital for export commodities so that they can earn money on the hard work of the citizens as they do what they can to survive and live basic on the mercy of these political leaders. This happens years upon end… without question and with the powers of controlling the heads of the Military and Police so they can silence the population. Therefore the worst crimes aren’t murders or stealing under these dictatorships. The worst crime and worst offence is to offend and counter-claim the legitimacy of the Executive. Parts of that is also to solidify popular support of the public and therefore needs to be detained and charged with amazing amounts affidavits and draconian laws to determine the fate of the opposition by any means.

So this is the profile of the fellow Presidents, they are doing it in their own way, but the key of results is this: keep themselves in Power and secure the government funds together with business in the Nation for their loyalist and the people that the President can trust.

Since they cannot win the popular ballots as some of them could have in their first elections and ballots as they might have liberated the Nation or even gotten rid of former dictators or the fantastically corrupt who used the army and economy themselves to build palaces and get more government funds into Swiss Bank Accounts than amounts of sheep on New Zealand. The Presidents and their elites are in recent elections either using fear, armies to disrupt and silence opposition; if that doesn’t work ballot-stuffing, pre-ticked ballots and even stop the counting and fix the result for the Ruling Regime. So that the “legitimate” government is still there and with their “elected” men and woman even if the Electorate meant differently. That has happen again and again. The Presidents uses elections as big-caving events and periods to finally buy loyalty of local communities and give pledges that they have never plans to achieve as they keep the district in dire poverty to secure the aid and donor funds. While having ability to skim the funds and take the taxpayer’s money as the accountability doesn’t matter as much as the personal relationship between the Elite on the top. So when the President passes by the impoverished district he would drop some shillings and pay the community leaders with a new car or big brown envelope.

Why do we accept these men to run these ruthless games and when is this supposed to end?

When will the public and citizens be respected?

What do you think about my opinions, does they fit the bill?

Do you have any answers as I was just ranting again today! Peace.

#PanamaPapers: A little reflection on the reason why these operation exisist and thrieving on the Fortunate

For those who have been surprised by the recent allegation and findings in the #Panama Papers that incites lots of politicians, the general elites and businessmen connected close to the governments. The money always talks, the money always moves and by any means possible.

For the wealthy and close connected they have the ability to forge networks and find businesses that earns coins on helping to move that money. But that is not for the ordinary people, as we pay a fortune to use RIA or Western Union to move between usually loved ones. But the Panama Papers are for whole other ordeal.

This here is for Tax Aviation’s and getting rid of extra burdens on the solid amount money they have gained. The persons and companies are set-up Shell-Companies to stack up money in British Virgin Island (BVI), Panama or Luxemburg. As this places doesn’t have that many inhabitance or sheep to earn money on, they earn tiny percentage on being “big-banks” for all kind of operations, while securing that the companies and persons involved can keep it discreet and silence. Until cover-ups like the recent ones shows the true color of the amount of money, that are dished away. The money that are stashed-away is millions upon millions of American Dollars; dipped away in a treasury chests that most economies would dream of having in circulation!

That should not be surprising as all of well-known government leaders are setting up and making it possible to have sophisticated economic systems that cross-borders for the benefit of trade; while these are used to ship the money from the places that have initially no taxes and programs that made up to build societies. This is also the places where they can have it without any concern, except some extra sunshine and a family resort at the beach, though I would not consider that in Luxemburg, unless suits and gas-stations are your thing.

The business-men and government officials, even relatives usually walks around with that without problems for decades as the banks, and the legal advocates set-up this fixed businesses to secure the fueling of their money. The worst thing is the loopholes and the ways that this decisive methods to undermine the local public to create and secure more funds for already wealthy clients. Where the bank as HSBC and lawyers of Mossack Fonseca divided fees to pocket the money that the client needed to send away from the shores and country-sides; where the money was raised and earned. While getting away from local agony of having fortunes and paying taxes on the high-incomes earned to the local communities.

If you we’re shocked of the values and the persons that was involved in the scandal of late, I wasn’t as the government officials, presidents sons and daughters; kin and other close connections have always gained extra through the cronyism or nepotism have been a thing since the Roman Empire, and does not stop any time soon. That the President Museveni of Uganda owns businesses and would have dashed a fortune for his grandchildren in an tax-haven through multiplied shell-companies. The same would not also be surprising on the Kenyan President Kenyatta who recently brought Sameer Diary and Livestock Limited who sells ‘Fresh Diary’ in Uganda through his company Brookeside. Surely his kins and family have some money abroad to secure in dire times might come. The same is certainly with President Kagame, who even been seen during the scandal that RPF-Elite men have been insiders in the scandal, as President Kagame have control and ease over it; surely he would skim over the top and gain some extra funds as the Executive. Similar is it in Democratic Republic of Congo where President Kabila sister is central profile in the scandal and shows how the monies and funds appear in tax-havens as she owns businesses and also the centralized economy around nepotistic and cronyism. Something that should not  be shocking for anyone.

What this scandal shows is the amounts and estimates, this is through to major companies who serves this clients that are close by this totalitarian and big-men leaders who have close connected with central industries as they have to be granted and get contracts with government to drill oil, mining or even gain markets in the countries. With that power comes also embezzlement, kick-backs and percentage of the top that get skimmed through the advanced economic products that the blue-collar lawyers and bankers offers; they do that legally, but in a moral grey area as this thieving of government controlled funds in the name of the beneficiary or the shell-company in discreet secrecy. It’s not only dictators and their wives who are into it, I am sure if it wasn’t for the failed ‘Wonga Coup’ Mark Thatcher would still be up to game as the son-fallen from grace and proud family tradition; as even David Cameroon have been put into the mix. There is no shortfall when it comes to greed, and corporate greed never stops.

As the world leaders tries the best to hide their businesses and ownership through shell-companies and strawmen, or getting a cousin to run the business kind of like what Trump does to his son, just a little more subtle.

The governments are taking the sides of happy uncles as they all tries to open trades with tax-havens to keep businesses in their countries. The Companies who in many countries are seen as “Legal Person” can own land, own other businesses and be sued. Certainly with that power as stakeholders and shareholders does not care about other things than the bottom-line, they want to sell or sell enough services so that their earning a profit, by any means. That is why big businesses have been taken for tax-evasion in the UK this was Amazon and other online-retailers as they we’re officially legal unit in a tax-haven and not in the United Kingdom, though the products bought on Amazon was sent from a warehouse in UK, and sent to UK houses. The transaction between costumer who got the book from Amazon payed to a British account, but before the cash kissed the taxation to the Government of UK, it was sent to multiply Amazon shell-companies before ending at a Tax-haven. So that the United Kingdom get only pennies in tax compared to the Pound Sterling the UK state was supposed to earn from the Amazon LLC. That is just an example, but still important as a precise maneuvers the companies and international companies do, so they does not pay full-taxes or truthfully through sophisticated economic programs and revisions get the monies through foreign banks and tax-havens with help of legal teams in companies similar to Mossack Fonseca.

How to set up shop:

The LLC and Shell Companies will be used in market strategies as ghost straw-men for the owners sending monies through networks of intricate syndicates and money-laundering operations; That make Uncle Scrooge or Scrooge McDuck wishing he was a real person and not a cartoon character made up by Carl Barks in 1952; instead he is owning a Oil Company drilling oil in either Kazakhstan, Nigeria or North Dakota. Where he got the proceedings through UBS AG or HBSC; where the profit gets through manufactured holding companies and sent to BVI or Guernsey; where the McDuck Oil Company has headquarter, by official paperwork. That paperwork is written and made by lawful actions through Mossack Fonseca; while most of the Blue-Collar men are working in the unofficial Headquarters in the heart in the City of London or New York. But their taxing is little or near none there, because of McDonald Oil is fixed in Guernsey; Where they only have a Post-Box at the island; which by my reckoning would forward the mail to London or New York as the employees would actually be there.

This is a way of getting the bottom-line and the more of the ends directly to the stakeholders and owners of these companies tries to advance with this opportunities, that we the ordinary citizen, commoner, person or fellow human being would not be offered, since we don’t have the money to fix this or hire these men to forward our money, as we need the cash we have to get a home rent or buy, get food on the plate, pay electricity, airtime, taxes and then trying to get a chocolate bar once in a while. There is where we are. The once who was surprised about these papers have had too much faith in their rich, the elites and the once who has fortunes. They do not want to share that fortune that they have earned on our governments and our consumption; while trying to avoid giving something back to society, and giving the government more funds to develop the society the rich are doing business in. Peace.

#PanamaPapers/#SwissLeaks – Lot’s of Money to the Swiss Accounts from the East African countries.

This here is prove the numbers, this here does not prove who have the major accounts; on the surface as he page shows numbers, but not the accounts or who’s name that is behind the coded accounts from the HSBC Swiss Bank leak. This here proves that standards and values of how much money that leaves the countries and get into secret accounts in Switzerland.

This proves the values and the estimated amount of money in the accounts. In this here that I found on the page is very little direct as I don’t have somebody on the insides, that gives the documents. Therefore here is the raw-numbers and estimated that have been sent from East Africa. In this article I just have some persons who are connected, but not many of the holders of the accounts from the leak.

Burundi:

“30 client accounts opened between 1988 and 2006 and linked to 32 bank accounts. 14 clients are associated with Burundi. 21% have a Burundian passport or nationality. The total estimated values in the accounts are $30.2M.   The maximum amount of money associated with a client connected to Burundi was $8.3M” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Burundi Country Profile – Aziza Kulsum Gulamali:

“Listed as living in Belgium, Kulsum was linked to three HSBC numbered client accounts opened between 1990 and 1997. One account –15208BAMA– linked to two bank accounts that together held as much as $3.26 million in 2006/2007, was later blocked for unspecified compliance reasons. She showed up as a joint account holder of that numbered client account. The other two accounts were closed in 1995 and 2000” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Democratic Republic of Congo:

“182 clients are associated with DR Congo. 2% have a Congolese (Kinshasa) passport or nationality. 245 client accounts opened between 1984 and 2006 and linked to 299 bank accounts. The total estimated values in the accounts are $179.8M. The maximum amount of money associated with a client connected to DR Congo was $60.3M” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

DRC Country Profile – Jaynet Désirée Kabila Kyungu:

“Jaynet Désirée Kabila Kyungu is the twin sister of Joseph Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Famed for secrecy and meticulousness, she was elected to parliament in November 2011 and took office in February 2012. Kabila is the president of the Laurent Desire Kabila Foundation, named after her father, and owner of Digital Congo, a television, Internet and radio conglomerate. In 2015, Jeune Afrique reported that Kabila had become “the most influential person in the president’s entourage.” (…)”Keratsu Holding Limited was incorporated in Niue on June 19, 2001, a few months after Kabila’s brother became president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jaynet Désirée Kabila Kyungu appeared as co-director with Congolese businessman Kalume Nyembwe Feruzi. The DRC Company Keratsu Holding Ltd has owned stakes in one of the DRC’s major mobile phone operators” (Eagle.co.ug, 2016).

Ethiopia:

“29 clients are associated with Ethiopia. 24% have a Ethiopian passport or nationality. 31 client accounts opened between 1986 and 2004 and linked to 55 bank accounts. The total estimated values in the accounts are $10M. The maximum amount of money associated with a client connected to Ethiopia was $2M” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Eritrea:

“32 clients are associated with Eritrea. 28% have a Eritrean passport or nationality. 24 client accounts opened between 1981 and 2006 and linked to 39 bank accounts. The total estimated values in the accounts are $699.6M. The maximum amount of money associated with a client connected to Eritrea was $695.2M” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Kenya:

“The county or people of Kenyan nationality have 1,093 bank accounts, which with 463 client accounts opened between 1975 and 2006 and linked to 1,093 bank accounts. 742 clients are associated with Kenya. 32% have a Kenyan passport or nationality. The total estimated values in the accounts are $559.8M. The maximum amount of money associated with a client connected to Kenya was $35.8M” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Kenyan Country Profile – Johnson Nduya Muthama:

“HSBC files recorded Muthama’s name in connection with the client account “ROCKLAND96”, which was set up in 1996 and closed in 2000. Muthama was also linked to the numbered client account “20443NM” over the same period. Bank files listed eight of his relatives – named Nduya Muthama – also linked to the numbered account. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that he had in relation to the accounts” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Kenyan Country Profile No.2 – Lady Justice Rawal:

“She and her husband were listed as directors at Forrell Real Estate Inc from 2001 to 2007 and Rocklane Properties Ltd from 2001 to 2003, which were notably active after her appointment to the Judiciary in 2000. She was also a director and shareholder at Ubique Services Ltd in 1994 and shareholder at Highworth Management Services in 1995. All four firms were registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a notorious tax haven” (…)”The Kenyan Constitution makes it illegal for judges, being state officers, to open and operate offshore bank accounts. Chapter Six, Article 76 (2) (a) states: “A State officer shall not maintain a bank account outside Kenya except in accordance with an Act of Parliament” (Kubania, 2016).

Rwanda Country Profile – Emmanuel Ndahiro:

“”Emmanuel Ndahiro became a director of British Virgin Islands company Debden Investments Limited in September 1998, the same year in which Ndahiro regularly appeared in international news as a spokesman of the Rwandan army. Debden reportedly owned a jet aircraft. At the time of his appointment, Ndahiro’s listed address was a building in a commercial section of a West London neighborhood. Hatari Sekoko, a former soldier with the Rwandan Patriotic Front and now a major business executive, was the company’s owner. The company was deactivated in 2010.” (ICIJ.com, 2016)

Somalia:

“7 clients are associated with Somalia. 29% have a Somali passport or nationality. 10 client accounts opened between 1990 and 2003 and linked to 22 bank accounts. The total estimated values in the accounts are $15.5M. The maximum amount of money associated with a client connected to Somalia was $12.2M” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Tanzania:

“99 clients are associated with Tanzania. 20% have a Tanzanian passport or nationality. 91 client accounts opened between 1982 and 2006 and linked to 286 bank accounts. The total estimated values in the accounts are $114M. The maximum amount of money associated with a client connected to Tanzania was $20.8M” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Uganda:

“83 client accounts opened between 1972 and 2006 and linked to 212 bank accounts. There is now as the leak where happening 57 clients with Ugandan Passports or Nationality.  The total estimate to be in value in the accounts is $89,3M.  The maximum amount of money associated with a client connected to Uganda was $8.8M” (ICIJ.com, 2016).

Afterthought:

The numbers speak for themselves and the amount of money is staggering, this is most likely through one of giant Swiss Banks of the HSBC where the money have gone through and filtered in secret accounts. This here proves the levels of accountability and how the rich and elites filters away money from the country where they are earning money to have less tax or not being taxed in the under the regime some of them works for or is close by.

There lacking of accountability and senseless stealing of funds in between the different countries, as the scandals are rocking often. As state house and other governmental institutions missing funds before the fiscal years over, or lacking the economy to pay the salaries to their civil servants. Secondly is the free-based economy that gives edges and corporate greed who can strive without beneficial taxation and gives way for the movement of funds from the country the business is in; into a country that are a Tax-Paradise where the ones with the account can be secret and not pay what they are expected. If not it can be away of embezzling the funds or white-wash the funds as shell-companies are holders for the monies, while the owners tries to find a great use for the funds. Peace.

Reference:

Eagle.co.ug – ‘Sons, daughters and business associates to African presidents’ top Panama leaks’ (04.04.2016) link: http://eagle.co.ug/2016/04/04/sons-daughters-business-associates-african-presidents-top-panama-leaks.html

Kubania, Jacqueline – ‘Deputy CJ Rawal among high-profile Kenyans with firms in tax havens’ (04.04.2016) link: http://mobile.nation.co.ke/news/Rawal-among-high-profile-Kenyans-with-firms-in-tax-havens/-/1950946/3144804/-/format/xhtml/-/ioefn5z/-/index.html