The International Webinar on Measuring Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) was held virtually from November 18 to 20, 2025. It was organized by by Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The interregional Webinar is part of the Development Account Project DA15 “Measuring and Curbing Illicit Financial Flows,” led by the Economic Commission for Africa and developed in conjunction with UNCTAD, UNODC, and the five UN regional commissions. The initiative aims to consolidate methodologies, validate national estimates, and strengthen institutional capacities to measure illicit financial flows (IFFs) coherently at a global level. Organized by ECLAC in 2025, the meeting marks a milestone in the transition from the methodological phase to practical validation, highlighting the progress made in Latin America—particularly in Mexico—and promoting interregional cooperation to advance the measurement of SDG indicator 16.4.1.

Objectives

• To present the global conceptual framework for measuring IFFs in both Crime and illicit tax and commercial practices.
• To discuss methodological refinements and challenges identified during the application of UNCTADUNODC Conceptual Framework in different regional contexts.
• To share progress and challenges in project implementation across participating regions, including Latin America, Africa, and Asia.To highlight country-level experiences from participating nations, including:
• To highlight country-level experiences from participating nations, including:
  • Mexico (Tax & Commercial IFFs and a previous exercise on Crime-related IFFs).
  • Costa Rica (Crime-related IFFs).
  • Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Senegal. (Tax & Commercial IFFs).
• To facilitate knowledge exchange and discussions on methodological adaptations in various national contexts.
• To identify priority actions and definition of institutional commitments by region to define next steps for the consolidation of the project and future interregional collaborations.
   

Expected Outcomes

• Consolidated understanding of the methodologies applied and the main findings from pilot countries.
• Enhanced interregional coordination and exchange of experiences between the five UN Regional Commissions, UNCTAD, and UNODC.
• Draft validation of methodological guidelines for comprehensive IFF measurement (aligned with Outcome 2 of the DA15 project).
• Strengthened cooperation among national statistical systems and policy institutions for integrating IFF statistics into national development and financing strategies.
• Clear roadmap and preparatory inputs for the 2026 close-out interregional event, where final results and policy frameworks will be presented.
   

Participants

• Representatives from pilot and partner countries participating in the DA15 project.
• Experts from UN Regional Commissions, UNCTAD, UNODC, and partner institutions.
• Officials from national statistical offices, central banks, customs and tax authorities, ministries of finance, and other relevant agencies.
• Representatives from academia, civil society, and international organizations working on financial transparency, governance, and sustainable development financing.