Ghana, with a secrecy score and financial secrecy value of 53 and 167 respectively has been ranked the 9th most financially secretive country on the African Continent per the Tax Justice Network’s Financial Secrecy Index.
Globally, Ghana is ranked the 70th most financially secretive country.
African countries such as Angola, Algeria and Liberia with secrecy scores of 79, 79 and 73 take up the first, second and third most financially secretive countries on the Continent.
Nigeria, which is the continent’s biggest economy has a secrecy score of 65 and a financial secrecy value of 271 making it the fifth most financially secretive country in Africa. Globally, Nigeria ranks 42nd.
Below are 10 African countries that rank the highest in the financial secrecy index
| Rank | Country | Secrecy Score | Financial secrecy Value | Global rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Angola | 79 | 336 | 33rd |
| 2. | Algeria | 79 | 335 | 34th |
| 3. | Liberia | 73 | 286 | 40th |
| 4. | Kenya | 67 | 282 | 41st |
| 5. | Nigeria | 65 | 271 | 42nd |
| 6. | South Africa | 60 | 261 | 46th |
| 7. | Mauritius | 70 | 216 | 55th |
| 8. | Egypt | 68 | 211 | 56th |
| 9. | Ghana | 53 | 167 | 70th |
| 10. | Morocco | 66 | 146 | 79th |
According to the Tax Justice Network, financial secrecy continues to be a source of concern in today’s world owing to how much it enables criminal activities such as money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption.
Despite progress in promoting openness, several countries continue to be recognized as worldwide hotspots for financial secrecy.
Some countries still struggle tremendously with this issue, while others have done a decent job of containing it.
The Tax Justice Network is a platform that works to repair injustices by helping reprogramme tax and financial systems. The financial secrecy index ranks the countries and regions that are most involved in assisting people to conceal their financial affairs from the authorities.
The Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) calculates each jurisdiction’s contribution to the global financial secrecy problem using both qualitative and quantitative data.
According to Tax Justice Network, financial secrecy refers to the use of complex financial mechanisms by wealthy individuals, multinational corporations, and criminals to hide their assets for the purpose of abusing tax or evading the rule of law. They also note that financial secrecy keeps tax abuse feasible, drug cartels bankable, and human trafficking profitable.
The index highlights the rules that countries may alter to lessen their contribution to financial secrecy and identifies the largest providers of financial secrecy in the world.
The Secrecy Score for each jurisdiction is calculated from 20 Secrecy Indicators, designed to assess the legal framework, systems, and processes of each jurisdiction for their effectiveness at either permitting or preventing legal and financial secrecy for individuals and entities based elsewhere. The index grades each country’s tax and legal system with a “Secrecy Score” out of 100 where a zero represents no scope for financial secrecy and a 100 is unrestrained scope for financial secrecy.
