The Editor Zambia
The reduction in suspected illicit financial flows from US$3.5 billion in 2024 to US$1.8 billion in 2025 is an encouraging development in Zambia’s fight against financial crime and a sign that stronger financial intelligence and enforcement efforts are beginning to make an impact.
According to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) Trends Report, the Centre detected US$1.8 billion in suspected illicit financial flows in 2025, representing a significant decline from the previous year. 
While the figures do not necessarily mean that all illicit financial activities have been eliminated, the reduction offers an opportunity to assess the progress being made in strengthening financial accountability under President Hakainde Hichilema and the United Party for National Development (UPND) government.
For a country seeking to expand its economy, attract investment, and improve the welfare of its citizens, tackling corruption and the illegal movement of money is essential. Illicit financial flows deprive the Treasury of revenue, undermine fair competition, and weaken the capacity of government to finance public services and development programmes.
The latest figures, therefore, provide a basis for cautious optimism that Zambia is becoming more determined to confront financial malpractice rather than treating it as an unavoidable feature of economic life.
The report further indicates that the FIC disseminated 786 intelligence reports, of which 580 were linked to suspected tax crimes, many involving shell companies.
This finding highlights the continuing challenge posed by corporate structures that may be used to conceal beneficial ownership, evade taxation, or disguise the origins and destinations of funds.
The figures also demonstrate why financial intelligence must remain central to the country’s anti-corruption strategy.
Detecting suspicious transactions is an important first step, but the ultimate measure of success will be whether investigations lead to prosecutions where warranted, recovery of public resources, and stronger compliance with the law.
President Hichilema has repeatedly placed accountability and the fight against corruption at the centre of his administration’s public agenda.
Compared with previous governments other than UNIP, the current administration has sought to demonstrate that financial misconduct should attract scrutiny regardless of the individuals or institutions involved.
Zambia has a historical precedent for organised efforts against financial wrongdoing. During the administration of founding president Kenneth Kaunda, the State established the Special Investigations Team on the Economy (SITET) to investigate economic abuses and financial malpractice.
The experience illustrates that concerns about corruption and the misuse of public resources have long been featured in the country’s governance debate.
The present challenge is to build institutions capable of addressing sophisticated financial crimes in an increasingly complex economy, where money can move across borders rapidly, and corporate arrangements can obscure the identities of those who ultimately benefit.
A case highlighted in connection with the FIC’s 11th Money Laundering Trends Report reinforces this concern. The Centre reportedly identified suspicious transactions exceeding US$90 million and K70 million involving a company and six Zambians who allegedly assisted an Asian national in moving funds abroad. The transactions reportedly occurred between January 2024 and February 2025.
The government must continue strengthening the FIC, the Zambia Revenue Authority, law enforcement agencies, and the institutions responsible for prosecuting financial crimes.
Zambia needs a financial system in which legitimate businesses can prosper, taxes are paid, public resources are protected, and criminals cannot exploit weaknesses in regulation.
If the reduction recorded in 2025 is sustained and translated into stronger enforcement and greater recovery of illicit assets, it will represent meaningful progress.
Already, there is abundant evidence that President Hichilema and his administration have ensured that the fight against financial crime produces lasting institutional change and tangible benefits for the Zambian people.
