"Africa losing billions from fraud and tax avoidance", 2 Feb 2015

Africa is losing more than $50bn (£33bn) every year in illicit financial outflows as governments and multinational companies engage in fraudulent schemes aimed at avoiding tax payments to some of the world’s poorest countries, impeding development projects and denying poor people access to crucial services…Trade mispricing, payments between parent companies and their subsidiaries, and profit-shifting mechanisms designed to hide revenues are all common practices by companies hoping to maximise profits, the [report released by the African Union] said…[T]he private sector – including oil, mining, banking, legal and accountancy firms –…[was] involved in schemes designed to launder money and avoid paying corporate tax, according to the study…The report called for the UN to crack down on European and US firms that engage in tax avoidance and money laundering…