According to Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and National Treasury reports in 2016, it was estimated that a third of Kenya’s national budget was lost through corrupt dealings annually. That would mean that in 2018/19, we can reasonably expect to lose KES 1 trillion, if not more, to corruption. Much of this money ends up in offshore accounts in countries that are tax havens. As at 2007, economists at the American research firm National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) estimated that about 70% of Kenya’s GDP (KES 1.83 trillion in 2007) was stashed abroad, while the think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI) estimated in an October 2018 report that Kenya loses about 8% of government revenues annually (above USD 907 million, or KES 78.41 billion, based on the historical exchange rate) to trade misinvoicing by multinationals.

We’re joined by Will Fitzgibbon, an investigative journalist at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), who has worked on the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers and Swiss Leaks, to talk about where our stolen money goes. Press play!

Resources

The Panama Papers – Exposing the Rogue Offshore Finance Industry

The Panama Papers – Power Players

Paradise Papers – Secrets of the Global Elite

Swiss Leaks – Murky Cash Sheltered By Bank Secrecy

Swiss Leaks – Kenya Country Profile

Offshore Leaks Database: Kenya

What are the ‘Paradise Papers’ and why should you care?

Paradise papers: a special investigation

HSBC files

Kenya: Potential Revenue Losses Associated with Trade Misinvoicing

Wealthy Kenyans hiding Sh5trn in foreign banks

Concern as wealthy Kenyans stash their riches in tax havens

Leaks reveal Kenyan judge a director of multiple offshore companies

More Kenyans on Panama Papers list

What leaked Paradise Papers mean for Kenya

Inside the havens, where super rich people hide their billions

Third of Kenyan budget lost to corruption: anti-graft chief

Understanding the economic cost of corruption in Kenya

Experts: Theft, waste likely to silence calls for austerity

Episode 54: The Cost of Corruption

Episode 62: Tax Justice in Kenya

Image Credit: ICIJ