Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his (a) Kenyan, (b) Ugandan and (c) South Sudanese counterparts on preventing money-laundering and profiteering by the South Sudanese elite.

​Illicit finance is a driver of destabilisation, poor governance and conflict. In South Sudan this leads to resources being diverted that could be used to support peace process implementation and end the suffering of the people of South Sudan. We encourage the region to address weaknesses in their financial systems that provide channels for illicit finance, including in relation to South Sudan. In January the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, HM Treasury and Home Office Ministers wrote to their Kenyan and Ugandan counterparts outlining UK concerns, as well as offering practical support to help ensure robust systems are in place to deter corruption and illicit financial flows. The UK has also deployed technical expertise from both the National Crime Agency and Department for International Development to ensure Kenya’s compliance with Financial Action Task Force standards that can help to address the illicit financial flows in the region. British officials in Juba also frequently engage with the South Sudanese Ministry of Finance to ensure its spending is in line with its approved budget and to urge transparency and accountability in line with the provisions of the 12 September 2018 Peace Agreement.