The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is set to intensify its clampdown on illicit financial flows (IFFs), tax evasion, and trade mispricing as part of efforts to safeguard Nigeria’s financial integrity and boost revenue collection.
In a statement issued by Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, the agency announced a two-day national conference themed Combating Illicit Financial Flows, scheduled to hold from July 22 to 23 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
Adekanmbi said the high-level gathering would serve as a platform for proposing actionable solutions to tackle IFFs while reinforcing the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting financial transparency and harnessing domestic revenues for national development.
He added that the agency has already begun capacity-building initiatives for staff on detecting and blocking IFFs, particularly from multinational corporations.
He said, “Before now, we have set in motion machinery to tackle IFFs by approving capacity building programmes for staff members of the agency on how to identify and block IFFs, and to increase revenue collection from the multinational corporations.
“In sustaining this, we also approved the establishment of Proceeds of Crime Management and Illicit Financial Flows Coordinating Directorate (POCM-IFF), which is pivotal to addressing the menace. Taxes play a very strategic role in the nation’s economy.
“Before now, the Federal Government of Nigeria had established an Inter-Agency Committee on Stopping IFF from Nigeria in its efforts to curb the illicit flows. The committee comprises FIRS, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Central Bank of Nigeria, and Securities and Exchange Commission, among others.
“We have also approved the establishment of the Proceeds of Crime Management and Illicit Financial Flows Coordinating Directorate (POCM-IFF), which is pivotal in addressing the menace.”
The conference is expected to attract policymakers, tax administrators, financial experts, law enforcement agencies, anti-corruption bodies, and international stakeholders.