Honouring a Legacy,
Building a Future
A decade after the High-Level Panel Report, Africa renewed its resolve to end illicit financial flows and reclaim its wealth for its people.
In 2025, the 13th Pan-African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (PAC) was held from 7 to 10 October at The Capital on the Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference was convened under the theme "Honouring a Legacy, Building a Future: A Decade of the HLP Report."
The 2025 edition marked ten years since the landmark 2015 Report of the High-Level Panel (HLP) on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, chaired by former South African President H.E. Thabo Mbeki. The conference aimed to reflect on progress made since the Report, explore new strategies to curb illicit financial flows (IFFs), strengthen domestic resource mobilisation (DRM), and enhance Africa's leadership in global tax governance.
The conference brought together more than 400 delegates. They included policymakers, parliamentarians, oversight and anti-corruption bodies, tax administrators, civil society organisations, academics, think tanks, and research institutions, as well as regional and international organisations and development partners.
In his opening address, H.E. Thabo Mbeki reflected on the decade since the HLP Report. He described illicit financial flows as a haemorrhage of Africa's resources that undermines development, weakens governance and deepens inequality. He stressed that tackling IFFs is a political and economic imperative, not only a technical one, and that technical expertise must be matched by political mobilisation and continental unity. Members of the High-Level Panel also took part in a session titled "Ten Years Later – Reflections on the High-Level Panel Report." They noted that the Report changed how IFFs are understood, moving them from a narrow technical concern to an issue central to Africa's economic sovereignty. They also noted that persistent structural and political barriers continue to slow progress.
Across plenaries and side sessions, delegates examined how tax systems can drive industrialisation, promote value addition, and reduce Africa's reliance on raw exports. They also discussed the structural imbalances in the global financial architecture and called for decolonised approaches to international tax cooperation. A key milestone discussed was the ongoing negotiation of the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, driven by the Africa Group at the United Nations.
Delegates agreed that tax is not merely a tool for collecting revenue. They described it as a strategic instrument for economic transformation, democratic accountability, and the redistribution of power and resources. They called for tax policies aligned with Africa's industrialisation agenda to promote job creation, value addition, and local ownership.
During the conference, TJNA, in collaboration with the African Union and ATAF, launched the Anti-IFFs Policy Tracker. This legacy tool, rooted in the HLP Report, will help African countries monitor, assess, and strengthen their policy responses to illicit financial flows.
The conference closed with a clear message. Africa needs political champions, technical innovation, and continental solidarity to win the fight against IFFs, and the next decade must be about results, resilience, and reclaiming Africa's wealth.
PAC 2025 was convened by Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The Economic Justice Network (EJN) served as local partner.
More about the event can be found at the PAC 2025 Website