Illegal financial flows (IFF), often described as illicit money trafficking, are a global phenomenon which, according to Cobham and Janský in the 2017 UNODC-UNCTAD report, are estimated at more than USD 500 billion per year. In Africa, illicit financial flows are estimated at between USD$ 30 billion and USD$ 60 billion per year, according to the High Level Panel Report of 2016, commissioned by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Research carried out in 2018 by PASGR, Partnership for Africa & Social Governance Research, shows that Nigeria is one of the African countries most affected by the phenomenon of the misappropriation of funds. The Nigerian Federal State would in fact have lost about 17.8 billion dollars due to illicit financial flows and about 2.9 billion dollars are related to trade misinvoicing, over a period of time between 2004 and 2013. While it is widely believed that only criminals steal resources from individuals and countries, studies and statistics show that large trading companies, including world-renowned multinationals and unscrupulous businessmen transfer assets from developing countries to developed countries to evade taxes in the former and increase profits. Nigeria is one of the countries in the world most accustomed to suspicious, often unequivocally illegal practices, such as trade misinvoicing and transfer prices manipulation , capital flight abroad and corruption of state leaders and officials, and money laundering. Foreign oil companies are strongly attracted to the crude oil and natural gas resources available to the African country. However, the Nigerian federal state, as well as various state and local governments, and the Nigerian National Oil Company (NNPC) itself are not exempt from blame and liability. They are easily corruptible and sometimes careless in their economic and commercial relations with European and American companies. Examples of such recklessness include the Production Sharing Contracts and tax incentives for companies that are assigned new projects or the most risky and expensive fields, in terms of research, drilling, management and well development costs. The annual diversion of public funds from the Nigerian state coffers, which is highly dependent on oil revenues, causes a huge shortage of resources that would indeed be used to finance poverty reduction projects, education, health, infrastructure, youth employment and other essential services for the Nigerian population. According to the latest UN forecasts, Nigeria will be one of the most populous countries in the world by 2050, with around 400 million people, most of them young people. The aim of my research work is to investigate the strategies and loopholes used by oil and gas multinationals to evade and/or avoid taxes in Nigeria since the establishment of the Fourth Republic in 1999. As an Italian citizen and of the European Union, I will focus mainly on the work of the Italian oil company Eni and other European multinationals such as Shell, outlining the central points of the OPL 245 affair. Furthermore, my research aims to highlight the national and international factors that facilitate and convey tax avoidance and evasion, such as the historical heritage of the colonial period, widespread corruption and bad governance, Production Sharing Contracts, BITs, and the presence of tax havens.
I flussi finanziari illeciti (IFF), spesso descritti come traffici illeciti di denaro sono un fenomeno globale che, secondo quanto riferito da Cobham e Janský nel report UNODC-UNCTAD del 2017 , sono stimati a più di 500 miliardi di dollari l’anno. In Africa la stima dei flussi finanziari illeciti oscilla tra i 30 e i 60 miliardi di dollari all’anno secondo quanto rivelato dall’High Level Panel Report del 2016, commissionato dall’Unione Africana (AU) e dalla Commissione Economica per l’Africa delle Nazioni Unite (ECA) . Da una ricerca condotta nel 2018 da PASGR, Partnership for Africa & Social Governance Research, emerge che a livello continentale la Nigeria è uno dei paesi africani maggiormente colpiti dal fenomeno della sottrazione di fondi. Lo Stato Federale nigeriano avrebbe infatti perso circa 17,8 miliardi di dollari a causa dei flussi finanziari illeciti e circa 2,9 miliardi di dollari sono connessi al trade misinvoicing, in un periodo di tempo compreso tra il 2004 e il 2013 . Mentre è opinione diffusa che soltanto i criminali rubano risorse a individui e paesi, studi e statistiche dimostrano che grandi società commerciali, incluse le multinazionali note a livello mondiale e uomini d’affari senza scrupoli trasferiscono assets dai paesi in via di sviluppo a paesi sviluppati per evadere le tasse nei primi e incrementare i profitti. La Nigeria è uno dei paesi al mondo più avvezzo a pratiche sospette, spesso inequivocabilmente illecite, come la fatturazione errata del commercio e la manipolazione dei prezzi di trasferimento, la fuga di capitali all’estero e la corruzione dei vertici dello Stato e dei funzionari, il riciclaggio di denaro sporco. Le compagnie petrolifere straniere sono fortemente attratte dalle risorse di greggio e gas naturale di cui il paese africano dispone. Lo Stato federale nigeriano, così come i vari governi statali e locali, e la stessa Compagnia Petrolifera Nazionale Nigeriana (NNPC) non sono però esenti da colpe e responsabilità. Essi sono soggetti facilmente corruttibili e talvolta incauti nei rapporti economici e commerciali con le compagnie europee e americane. Tra gli accordi esemplificativi di questa imprudenza ci sono i Production Sharing Contracts, ossia i contratti di condivisione della produzione, e gli incentivi fiscali per le società a cui vengono assegnati nuovi progetti o i giacimenti più rischiosi e più dispendiosi, in termini di costi di ricerca, trivellazione, gestione e sviluppo del pozzo. La sottrazione annuale di fondi pubblici alle casse dello stato nigeriano, fortemente dipendente dalle entrate petrolifere, causa un’imponente carenza di risorse che invero sarebbero utilizzate per finanziare progetti di riduzione della povertà, l’istruzione, la sanità, le infrastrutture, l’occupazione dei giovani e altri servizi essenziali per la popolazione nigeriana. Secondo le ultime previsioni dell’ONU, infatti, la Nigeria sarà uno dei paesi più popolosi al mondo nel 2050, con circa 400 milioni di persone, la gran parte delle quali giovani . L’obiettivo del mio lavoro di ricerca è indagare sulle strategie e le scappatoie usate dalle multinazionali del petrolio e del gas per evadere e/o eludere le tasse in Nigeria, dalla costituzione della quarta Repubblica nel 1999. Da cittadina italiana e dell’Unione Europea mi focalizzerò principalmente sull’operato della compagnia petrolifera italiana Eni e su altre multinazionali europee come la Shell, delineando i punti centrali della vicenda relativa all’OPL 245. Inoltre la mia ricerca mira a evidenziare i fattori nazionali e internazionali che facilitano e veicolano l’elusione e l’evasione fiscale, come l’eredità storica del periodo coloniale, la corruzione diffusa e la cattiva governance, i Production Sharing Contracts, i BITs, e la presenza dei paradisi fiscali.
Trade misinvoicing, base erosion & profit shifting (BEPS) e flussi finanziari illeciti: Come le multinazionali di petrolio e gas evadono le tasse in Nigeria (1999-2019)
LOSCHIAVO, ANNA
2019/2020
Abstract
Illegal financial flows (IFF), often described as illicit money trafficking, are a global phenomenon which, according to Cobham and Janský in the 2017 UNODC-UNCTAD report, are estimated at more than USD 500 billion per year. In Africa, illicit financial flows are estimated at between USD$ 30 billion and USD$ 60 billion per year, according to the High Level Panel Report of 2016, commissioned by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Research carried out in 2018 by PASGR, Partnership for Africa & Social Governance Research, shows that Nigeria is one of the African countries most affected by the phenomenon of the misappropriation of funds. The Nigerian Federal State would in fact have lost about 17.8 billion dollars due to illicit financial flows and about 2.9 billion dollars are related to trade misinvoicing, over a period of time between 2004 and 2013. While it is widely believed that only criminals steal resources from individuals and countries, studies and statistics show that large trading companies, including world-renowned multinationals and unscrupulous businessmen transfer assets from developing countries to developed countries to evade taxes in the former and increase profits. Nigeria is one of the countries in the world most accustomed to suspicious, often unequivocally illegal practices, such as trade misinvoicing and transfer prices manipulation , capital flight abroad and corruption of state leaders and officials, and money laundering. Foreign oil companies are strongly attracted to the crude oil and natural gas resources available to the African country. However, the Nigerian federal state, as well as various state and local governments, and the Nigerian National Oil Company (NNPC) itself are not exempt from blame and liability. They are easily corruptible and sometimes careless in their economic and commercial relations with European and American companies. Examples of such recklessness include the Production Sharing Contracts and tax incentives for companies that are assigned new projects or the most risky and expensive fields, in terms of research, drilling, management and well development costs. The annual diversion of public funds from the Nigerian state coffers, which is highly dependent on oil revenues, causes a huge shortage of resources that would indeed be used to finance poverty reduction projects, education, health, infrastructure, youth employment and other essential services for the Nigerian population. According to the latest UN forecasts, Nigeria will be one of the most populous countries in the world by 2050, with around 400 million people, most of them young people. The aim of my research work is to investigate the strategies and loopholes used by oil and gas multinationals to evade and/or avoid taxes in Nigeria since the establishment of the Fourth Republic in 1999. As an Italian citizen and of the European Union, I will focus mainly on the work of the Italian oil company Eni and other European multinationals such as Shell, outlining the central points of the OPL 245 affair. Furthermore, my research aims to highlight the national and international factors that facilitate and convey tax avoidance and evasion, such as the historical heritage of the colonial period, widespread corruption and bad governance, Production Sharing Contracts, BITs, and the presence of tax havens.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/223