Training workshop on the statistical measurement of illicit financial flows (IFFs) in Egypt

The United Nations integrated SDGs Financing project for Egypt (INFF) aims to develop capacities and put in place simple systems to continuously measure, map and compare financing flows. An important element of this project is identifying financing opportunities, through the better availability and quality of data, in particular data on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs). IFFs threaten countries’ ability to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by diverting resources from development.

Custodian agencies of SDG indicator 16.4.1, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), released Conceptual Framework for the Statistical Measurement of Illicit Financial Flows in October 2020. In May 2021, UNCTAD finalised a draft of Methodological Guidelines to Measure Tax and Commercial IFFs for pilot testing, aimed at statistical and other national authorities with a mandate to collect and access relevant information. UNODC are finalising the Guidelines to measure IFFs from extractive activities and illegal drugs markets.

Expert Group on IFFs in Egypt held two on-line meeting, one on 8 December 2021 and one on 21 February 2022 to refine data availability review and propose measurement plan for IFF statistics in Egypt, including preliminary mapping of national agencies and identifying training requirements for its members. This national training workshop on the statistical measurement of IFFs in Egypt is organised with two main specific objectives:

1. To review, refine and consolidate the mapping of national agencies to measure IFFs in Egypt by hosting the in-person corroboration of Expert Group members; and
2. To provide training on methodologies to measure IFFs, specifically by providing conceptual basis to the participants (guidelines, discussions) and technical training on:
   • Tax and commercial IFF methodologies of trade misinvoicing: method#1 Partner Country Method+ (PCM+) and method#2 Price Filter Method+ (PFM+)
   • Crime-related IFF methodologies on drugs trafficking and smuggling of migrants
   • Cross-cutting concepts of anti-money laundering
3. Moreover, the workshop will serve as a platform to review and discuss further steps, including the roadmap and action plan to sustained national compilation of IFF statistics in Egypt.

Targeted participants of the training workshop are members of national Expert Group for statistical measurement of IFFs in Egypt, allowing for additional technical personnel of relevant national stakeholders to partake to ensure better knowledge distribution and sharing to ensure continuation in capacity enhancing activities within national stakeholders.

The training workshop and the IFF expert group meeting will be conducted in Arabic and English with simultaneous interpretation available. The workshop will be conducted as an in-person event, with limited hybrid option to cater for external experts to contribute to the training of national Expert Group members.