Hidden Billions: MFWA Builds Media Capacity to Expose Illicit Financial Leakages

The two-day training on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Progressive Taxation forms part of MFWA’s “Strategic Partnership Initiative for Ghana and West Africa,” funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark through Oxfam Ghana.

The initiative seeks to deepen journalists’ understanding of the complex financial schemes that drain national resources and to promote informed reporting on domestic resource mobilisation and progressive taxation.

Illicit Financial Flows, defined by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as the illegal movement of money across borders through corruption, tax evasion and money laundering, continue to undermine Ghana’s development efforts.

Speaking at the training, Mr. Edward Cudjoe, Ashanti Regional Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), warned that IFFs cripple socio-economic growth, increase poverty levels and deprive governments of critical funds needed for public services.

He identified corruption, trade mispricing, tax evasion, environmental crimes such as illegal mining, money laundering and the use of shell companies as major drivers of IFFs. He further noted regulatory gaps in sectors such as artisanal and small-scale mining and emerging areas like Virtual Asset Service Providers, which criminals often exploit.

Mr. Cudjoe emphasized that perpetrators of IFFs deploy increasingly sophisticated methods to bypass existing legal and institutional frameworks, requiring stronger investigative capacity and cross-border cooperation to combat the menace.

On the international front, the European Union and Germany have committed €70 million to the African Union to bolster continental efforts to tackle illicit financial flows.

Touching on taxation, Mr. Benaiah Addo, Executive Director of Green Tax Youth Africa, described taxation as the backbone of national development but cautioned that weak systems, inadequate logistics and poor record-keeping create loopholes for tax evasion.

He called for greater investment in tax administration systems to seal revenue gaps and ensure sustainable domestic resource mobilisation.

Through this initiative, MFWA aims to inspire fact-checked, investigative stories that expose illicit financial practices and strengthen accountability in Ghana’s economic governance framework.
Source: Nana Esi Brew Monney