Corruption seriously damages the fabric of society. It wrongly enriches criminals at the expense of public trust in institutions, creates an unlevel playing field for law-abiding businesses, and radically limits progress on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Corruption, in all its forms, is a complex crime and through modern technology, criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to avoid detection. This makes it more important than ever for political leaders, policy makers, and law-enforcement authorities to develop joint approaches to stamping out such behaviours. By its very nature, corruption often occurs alongside or involves the commission of other serious financial crimes, be it money laundering, tax evasion, or terrorist financing. Combating corruption therefore requires a holistic approach that integrates a range of law enforcement efforts to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute financial and economic crimes associated with corrupt acts. In recent years, our understanding of the important links between different forms of financial crime has increased, leading jurisdictions around the globe to recognise the need for adopting more comprehensive cross-government approaches. This calls for a coordinated response from a range of government actors, including anti-corruption authorities, anti-money laundering authorities, financial intelligence units, tax authorities, customs authorities, financial regulators, police, and prosecutors, all of which may be involved at different stages of combating financial crimes. However, most jurisdictions continue to struggle with operationalising comprehensive government efforts to combat financial and economic crime. In this publication, the OECD and World Bank have joined forces to share their experience working with governments and agencies across the world in meeting this challenge. Recognising that tax authorities, especially, can be key allies in the fight against corruption, this joint OECD/World Bank report shines a spotlight on the legal, strategic, operational, and cultural aspects of co-operation between tax authorities and anti-corruption authorities in investigating and prosecuting corruption and tax crimes. Drawing on data from 67 countries from all geographical regions, the report shows that, while most countries have laws in place to support co-operation, more work is needed to ensure that these laws are effective and well implemented. By enhancing inter-agency collaboration between tax authorities and anticorruption authorities, governments will be better equipped to fight corruption and restore faith in public and private sector institutions. We invite leaders of both developed and developing countries to use this report to benchmark their governments’ co-operation frameworks and identify areas for improvement. Preventing, detecting, and punishing financial crimes like tax evasion and corruption requires collective action and the OECD and World Bank remain committed to supporting jurisdictions’ efforts. We must not let the advances made in building inclusive and fair societies be frustrated by these crimes. A sustained commitment to prioritise a whole-of-government approach to combating financial crimes will ensure that jurisdictions around the globe are better equipped than ever to end impunity and hold corrupt actors to account.
