18th International Anti-Corruption Conference

This session will discuss the unintended consequences of corruption measures being experienced by financial institutions/intermediaries and CSOs, why they are important to address (if not, they can pave the way for deeper issues such as money flowing outside of the formal banking channels) and open the door to discuss ways in which this can be addressed.

Corruption is estimated to cost more than 5% of global GDP (US 2.6 trillion). Corruption undermines sustainable development, has a chilling effect on investment, damages the rule of law, and exacerbates inequality while enricheing dictators, traffickers and terrorists. Measures need to be taken to tackle this issue. Around the world civil society organisations (CSOs) play a crucial role in exposing corruption, revealing vested interests and holding the powerful to account when the rule of law fails. However, in our attempts to tackle corruption, sometimes more harm than good can be done. For instance, cracking down on online illicit funding should not undermine internet freedoms, strengthening financial regulation should not be at odds with the sustainable development agenda on financial inclusion, the costs of compliance should not shut out CSOs from access to funds. The very regulation designed to combat corruption should not emasculate the very institutions which seek to address it.