Illuminating Dark Corners of the Global Economy
This issue of Finance & Development reminds me of a Sufi parable. A woman sees a mystic searching for something outside his door. […]
The Digital Gamble: New Technology Transforms Fiscal Policy
By Vitor Gaspar and Geneviève Verdier
April 12, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Traffic in Singapore: the city uses digital technology for road pricing to manage road congestion congestion (photo: Kua Chee Siong/ SPH/Newscom)..
In Rwanda, digitally-monitored drones deliver blood supplies to hospitals. In Estonia, it takes five minutes to file taxes and 99 percent of government services are available online. Singapore was the first city to implement electronic road pricing to manage congestion. The world is becoming digital, and reliable, timely, and accurate information is available at the push of a button. Governments are following suit, using digital tools for tax and expenditure policy, public financial management, and public service delivery. […]
Corruption Disruption
December 8, 2017
Version in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian)
Corruption can have devastating effects on economic growth and stability (photo: Patric Sandri IKON Images/Newscom)
Why does the IMF care so deeply about corruption? The reason is simple. The job of the IMF is to protect global economic stability and promote strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive economic growth. And this becomes difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in the presence of entrenched and institutionalized corruption. […]
Stepping up the Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
July 26, 2017
Versions in ربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)
Money laundering and terrorist financing threaten economic stability. International cooperation is vital in the fight against misuse of the financial system (photo: CraigRJD/iStock by Getty Images)
Corrupt officials, tax cheats, and the financial backers of terrorism have one thing in common: they often exploit vulnerabilities in financial systems to facilitate their crimes.
Money laundering and terrorist financing can threaten a country’s economic and financial stability while funding violent and illegal acts. That is why many governments have stepped up the fight against such practices, helped by international institutions such as the IMF.
Blow, Bling and Bucks: IMF Work Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
Drug traffickers, diamond smugglers, and terrorists’ financiers around the world have one thing in common: they abuse the financial system to “clean” the proceeds they have obtained from their illegal work, or to transfer funds to achieve their destructive aims. The former is known as money laundering and the latter as terrorist financing.
The IMF has worked with countries to combat money laundering and terrorist financing for over 10 years. With the benefit of all this experience, we decided it was time to consider a new, risk-focused approach to add depth to the way we assess money laundering and terrorist financing.
Tax Matters for Developing Countries
For all too many low-income countries, government tax revenues are far from enough to meet the needs of their people. Some have made good progress, and this helped them weather the crisis better than many advanced economies—but there is an underlying, quiet crisis of inadequately resourced governments.
Stepping Up the Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
Building on the results of the IMF's recent work on the risks from money laundering and the macroeconomic impacts of money laundering and predicate crime, the Fund is seeking to integrate AML/CFT more fully into the Fund’s surveillance and Financial Sector Assessment Programs.