Country Statement from Nigeria: London Anti-Corruption Summit

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  • Country: Nigeria
  • Language: English
  • Document Type: Domestic Law or Regulation
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!1! 12TH MAY, 2016 COUNTRY STATEMENT FROM NIGERIA LONDON ANTI-CORRUPTION SUMMIT !!EXPOSING!CORRUPTION!!!(A)!Beneficial!Ownership!Transparency!!I. Nigeria!is! committed! to!establishing!a!public! central! register! of! company!beneficial! ownership!information.!(The! President! of! Nigeria!has!presented! a! draft! Money! Laundering! Prevention! and! Prohibition!Bill! to!the! National! Assembly! in! February,! 2016.! This! Bill!has! defined! Beneficial!Ownership! in! line! with!FATF! standards.)!!II. Nigeria!has!a!database!of!registered!companies,!charities!and!trustees!and!provides! access! to! lawyers!and!law! enforcement! agencies! to! beneficial!ownership! information! for! companies! and! other! legal!entities! registered!within! our!jurisdiction.!!!III. We! are! committed! to! implementing! bilateral! arrangements! that! will!ensure! law! enforcement! in! one! partner! country! has! full! and! effective!access!to!the!beneficial!ownership!information!of!companies!incorporated!in!the!other!partner!country.!!!IV. We!are!taking!steps!to!ensure!transparency!of!the!ownership!and!control!of! all! companies! involved! in! property! purchase! and! public! contracting.!Nigeria! is! already! collating! this! information! through! the! Extractive!Industry!Initiative!process!and!would!extend!it!to!other!sectors.!!!!V. Nigeria! will! establish! a!transparent! central! register! of! foreign! companies!bidding!on!public!contracts!and!buying!property.!!!

!2!VI. We!welcome! the! proposal! by! developed! countries!to! work! together! to!improve! the! access! of! developing! countries! to! beneficial! ownership!information!for!use!in!public!contracting.!!VII. We! welcome! the! proposal! from! countries! to! restrict! the! ability! of! those!involved! in! grand! corruption! to! travel,! invest! and! do! business! overseas.!(We! suggest! that! this! could! be! activated! where! there! is! a! conviction,! or!public!information!of!the!involvement!in!grand!corruption!and!where!it!is!in!the!public!interest!to!impose!those!restrictions).!!!VIII. We!commit!to!joining!the!pilot!initiative!for!automatic!exchange!of!beneficial!information.!!!(B)!Preventing!the!Facilitation!of!Corruption!!I. Nigeria!commits!to! deploying! publicOprivate! information! sharing!partnerships!to!bring!together!governments,!law!enforcement,!regulators!and! the! financial! sector! to! detect,! prevent! and! disrupt! money! laundering!linked! to! corruption.!(Within! the! Financial! Sector,! such! a! partnership!exists! and! brings! together! the! Chief! Compliance! Officers! of! Banks,! law!enforcement!and!security!agencies).!!II. We! will! work! together!with!interested! countries!to! share! information!between! respective! publicOprivate! partnerships! to! ensure! the! most!effective!response!to!international!money!laundering.!!(C)!Public!Procurement!and!Fiscal!Transparency!!I. We! will! work! towards! full! implementation! of! the! principles! of! the! Open!Contracting! Data! Standard,! focusing! on! major! projects! as! an! early!priority.!!II. We!will!apply!the!Open!Contracting!Data!Standard!to!the!following!major!projects!–!(i)!Development!of!Refineries!in!the!oil!Sector;!(ii)!Building!of!Health!Centers!and!Improvement!of!Health!Services;!(iii)!Building!of! Roads! and! other! Infrastructures;! (iv)! Building!of! Schools! and!Improving!Transparency!in!the!Management!of!Education!Funds!and!(v)!Investment!in!the!Power!Sector.!!!III. We! will!implement! the! principles! of!Open! Government! Partnership! and!Open!Data!Charter.!!!IV. We!commit!to!undertake!IMF!Fiscal!Transparency!Evaluation.!!

!3!!!(D)!Extractive!Industry!(Oil!Sector!and!Solid!Mineral)!!!I. We! commit! to! work! together! to! enhance! company! disclosure! on! the!payments! to! governments! for! the! sale! of! oil,! gas! and! minerals,!complementing! ongoing! work! within! the! EITI.! !(As! a! member!of! the!Extractive! Industry! Transparency! Initiative! (EITI),! Nigeria! is! already!implementing!the!principles!of!disclosure!required!under!the!EITI).!!II. Nigeria! is! already! reporting! progress! through! the!EITI! working! groups!and! will!continue! to!work!with! interested! countries!to! build! a! common!understanding!and!strengthen!the!evidence!for!transparency!in!this!area.!III. We! welcome! voluntary! disclosures!through! EITI! reporting! and!by! some!major! companies! regarding! payments! to! governments! for! the! sale! of! oil,!gas!and!minerals.!!IV. We! welcome! the! new! 2016! EITI! Standard,! in! particular! the! requirements!on!beneficial!ownership!and!the!sale!of!the!state’s!share!of!production.!!(E)!Tax!Transparency!!I. We!will!sign!up!to!the!Common!Reporting!Standard!initiative.!!II. We!commit!to!join!the!Addis!Tax!Initiative.!!III. We! commit! to! reviewing! penalties!and! other! actions! against! professional!enablers! of! tax! evasion,! including! for! corporations! that! fail! to! prevent!their!employees!from!facilitating!tax!evasion.!!IV. We! support! the! development! of! a! global!commitment! for! public! country!by! country! reporting! on! tax! information! for! large! multinational!enterprises!!2.!PUNISH! THE! CORRUPT! AND! THE! SUPPORT! THE! VICTIMS! WHO! HAVE!SUFFERED!FROM!CORRUPTION!!!(F)!Prevent!Corrupt!Bidders!From!Winning!Contracts!!!I. We! commit! to! establishing! accessible! central! databases! of! companies!with!final!convictions.!!!II. We! commit! to! exploring! ways! of! sharing! information! on! corrupt! bidders!across!borders.!!!!

!4!(G)!Asset! Recovery,! Asset! Return! And! Transparent! Management! of!Returned!Assets!!I. We! commit! to!the!strengthening! of!our! asset! recovery! legislation,!including! through! nonOconviction! based! confiscation! powers! and! the!introduction! of! unexplained! wealth! orders.!(Nigeria! has!limited!powers!under! the! Independent!Corrupt! Practices! Commission! Act,! 2000! and! the!Economic! and! Financial! Crimes! Commission! Act,! 2004! to! recover! stolen!assets.!In!order!to!improve!on!the!current!legal!procedures!and!ease!asset!recovery!procedures,! Nigeria! has! drafted!the!Proceeds! of! Crime! Bill.!The!Proceeds! of! Crime! Bill! will! provide! for!transparent! management! of!returned! assets! and! nonOconviction! based! approach! to! asset! recovery.!!!!II. We! commit! to! developing!internationally! endorsed!guidelines! for! the!transparent!and!accountable!management!of!returned!stolen!assets.!!!(H)!Payments!To!Affected!States!And!Victims!Of!Corruption!!!I. We! will! develop! common! principles! governing! the! payment! of!compensation! to! the! countries! affected,!(including! payments! from!foreign! bribery! cases)!to! ensure! that! such!payments! are! made! safely,!fairly!and!in!a!transparent!manner.!!3.!DRIVE!OUT!THE!CULTURE!OF!CORRUPTION!WHEREVER!IT!EXISTS!!!(I)!Fostering!Integrity!In!International!Sports!!!I. We!will!join!the!International!Sport!Integrity!Partnership.!!!(J)!Promoting!Integrity!In!Our!Institutions!!!I. We! will! launch! a! practitioner! partnership! on! institutional! integrity,!coordinated! by! the! OECD.! ! This! will! cover! the! following! sectors:![extractives,! health,!education,! public! service! and! antiVcorruption!institutions]!II. We!will!promote!institutional!integrity!and!partnership!between!the!UK! Auditor! General’s! Office! and! the! Nigeria’s! Office! of! the! Auditor!General! as! well! as! between!Nigeria’s!AntiVCorruption! Institutions!and! the! UK! National! Crime! Agency! to! build!capacity! to! fight!corruption!while!also!improving!professional!standards.!!!!!!

!5!(K)!Support!Innovations!in!the!Use!Technology!to!Fight!Corruption!!I. We! commit! to! participating! in! an! Innovation! Hub! that! will! facilitate! the!uptake! of! new! approaches! and!technologies! to! tackle! corruption!and! to!improve!access!to!information.!!(L)!Support!to!International!System!!I. We! will! work! with! other!countries,! civil! society,!and!international!organisations! to! support! accelerated! implementation! of! the! voluntary!provisions! of! the! UN! Convention! Against! Corruption! (UNCAC)! and! we!commit! to! the! implementation! of! the! outstanding! obligations! under! the!UNCAC!!II. We! support! the! establishment! of!an! International! AntiOCorruption!Coordination! Center! to! be! managed! by! National! Crimes! Agency,!UK.! We!will!work!with!NCA!in!promoting!this!centre!in!the!African!region.!!!!President!Muhammadu!Buhari!President!of!the!Federal!Republic!of!Nigeria!12th!May,!2016!!