ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday called upon the rich nations to immediately return the stolen money of developing countries parked in their banks.
Addressing a high-level panel on Financial Accountability, Transparency, and Integrity (FACTI) on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly session, Imran said the international community must take decisive actions to stop what he called bleeding of the poor and developing countries.
The Prime Minister’s Office said the event was organized to present an interim report of the FACTI panel, which identified major gaps in implementation and systemic shortcomings of the existing international frameworks for tax cooperation, anti-corruption, and anti-money laundering.
The prime minister Imran Khan pointed out that his government had come with a robust public mandate to rid the country of this menace. He said although the government had taken several initiatives domestically, the required action was to strengthen international cooperation to bring perpetrators of financial crimes to justice.
He said the FACTI panel report stated that $1 trillion was taken out each year by the white-collar criminals, while $20-40 billion was in the form of bribes received by these corrupt white-collar criminals; $7 trillion in stolen assets was parked in these safe tax haven destinations; $500-600 billion was lost each year in tax avoidance by multinational companies.
Imran Khan said proposed these measures that the world must take to curb illicit financial flows. “The stolen assets of developing countries, including proceeds of corruption, bribery, and other crimes, must be returned immediately. The authorities in haven destinations must impose criminal and financial penalties on their financial institutions which receive and utilize such money and assets.
The enablers of corruption and bribery such as accountants, lawyers, and other intermediaries must be closely regulated, monitored, and held accountably. The beneficial ownership of foreign companies must be revealed immediately upon inquiry by the interested and affected governments.
Multinational corporations must not be allowed to resort to profit-shifting to low-tax jurisdictions for avoiding taxation. A global minimum corporate tax could prevent this practice. Revenues from digital transactions should be taxed where the revenues are generated, not elsewhere.
Unequal investment treaties should be discarded or revised, and a fair system for adjudication of investment disputes set up. All official and unofficial bodies set up to control and monitor illicit financial flows must include all the interested countries.
Speaking on “Poverty at Crossroads: Using Leadership and The Multidimensional Poverty Index to Build Back Better”, he noted that around one billion people – almost 15 percent of the world’s population – survived in poverty, lacking income and capabilities to live with dignity.
“Poverty imposes massive human suffering. It is the most pervasive violation of human rights. It is also the root cause of socio-economic instability, and of most political and security problems across the world. It is thus only right that poverty eradication is the first among UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.
Over the past 30 years, he pointed out, poverty had visibly declined. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the worst global recession in over a century. One hundred million people are likely to be pushed back into extreme poverty. A decade’s development could be reversed.
The COVID virus does not discriminate; but it is the poor and vulnerable who have suffered the most from it, he said, adding that in Pakistan, ‘we have been able to control the virus through our strategy of smart lockdowns’.
“My government has done its utmost to shield the poor and the vulnerable. Despite our financial difficulties, we implemented a $1.25 billion package to deliver emergency cash to over 15 million families, covering over 100 million people. My government is implementing a multisectoral poverty alleviation program – Ehsaas (which means compassion in Urdu). It is the largest poverty eradication program in Pakistan’s history,” he said.
“My government is committed to reducing poverty from 24.3 percent to 19 percent by 2023. My aim is to create an Islamic welfare state based on the principles of Riaysat-e-Madina through inclusive equitable growth and economic modernization”.
He said as the UN Secretary-General had observed: “Inequality is the hallmark of our times”. Today, he added, 26 richest people in the world owned as much wealth as half the world’s population does.
The richer countries have mobilized over $10 trillion to recover from the COVID crisis. The developing countries on the other hand are struggling to find even a small fraction of the $2.5 trillion they need.
The exploitation of the resources of the poor countries must stop. The illicit flows of the fruits of corruption and crime must be halted and the stolen assets returned to the countries of origin. And, developing countries must be helped to recover from the COVID crisis, to realize the SDGs and to ward off the impacts of climate change,” the prime minister said.
The financial resources, he stressed, needed by the developing countries must be mobilized, through debt relief – which I called for last April; the creation of new Special Drawing Rights; and expanded official development assistance.
“The realization of the SDGs can be accelerated, especially through major investments in sustainable infrastructure – in renewable energy, transport, housing, water, and sanitation. New technologies must be mobilized and the digital divide bridged to enable developing countries to leapfrog into a modern development paradigm,” he said.
Imran Khan concluded by saying, “I am confident that this important event will contribute significantly to our collective fight against global poverty and promotion of SDGs”