OECD launches report on greater co-operation and information sharing between government agencies to counter financial crimes

18/09/2015 – Vast amounts are lost to illicit financial flows, including tax evasion, money laundering, bribery and corruption. These crimes threaten the strategic, political and economic interests of both developed and developing countries. In a world of limited resources and increasing complexity, it is essential for government authorities to work closely together in a “whole of government” approach to best address these challenges.

Improving Co-operation between Tax and Anti-Money Laundering Authorities: Access by tax administrations to information held by financial intelligence units for criminal and civil purposes highlights the need for governments to maximise their effectiveness in tackling financial crimes and ensuring tax compliance and shows the benefits of greater co-operation between Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and tax administrations. It recommends that, subject to the necessary safeguards, tax administrations should have the fullest possible access to the Suspicious Transaction Reports received by the FIU in their jurisdiction.

This report was released at the Fourth OECD Forum on Tax and Crime in Amsterdam, an event which brought together over 200 senior officials and specialists from over 70 countries and international organisations, who collectively share responsibility for combating financial crime and terrorist financing in all its forms. Strengthening the links between criminal tax investigations and the fight against illicit financial flows such as tax evasion, bribery and corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing was a key topic of the agenda. Participants also stressed the need for capacity building to help developing countries to better fight financial crimes as part domestic resource mobilisation.  Discussions on the dark web and the use of analytics to detect and deter financial crimes illustrated the importance of technology as both a risk and part of the solution to tax crimes and other crimes with further work forthcoming.

Further details on the Fourth Forum on Tax and Crime, including the statement of outcomes, are available at: www.oecd.org/ctp/crime/forumontaxandcrime.htm

For more information, journalists should contact Grace Perez-Navarro, Deputy Director of the OECD's Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTPA) on +33 1 45 24 18 80 or Achim Pross, Head of the CTPA International Co-operation and Tax Administration Division.