In 2015, Levin Sources and the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (Global Initiative) came together around a shared urgency to better understand how illicit financial flows (IFFs) act as impediments to the formalisation of Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM), with a focus on gold.
The purpose of the cooperation between Levin Sources and the Global Initiative is to build understanding of financial flows linked to gold to strengthen international responses to financial crime and aid the formalisation of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) by identifying actors and situations that act as barriers.
The aims of the cooperation, known as The GIFF Project, are to:
- Raise awareness and understanding of illicit financial flows (IFFs) and criminal networks in gold supply chains
- Create a network of stakeholders interested in and working on ASM formalisation and IFFs in gold supply chains that will share knowledge and strategies
- Emancipate people from criminality into formality
- Provide stakeholders and decision makers (in government, civil society, and the private sector) with tools to identify, map, and address IFFs in their gold supply chains.
The first phase of The GIFF Project (December 2015 to November 2016) was funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Two new publications, focusing on Mongolia and the Philippines, were funded by the United Nations International Development Organization (UNIDO) in 2017.
PUBLICATIONS (Click publication cover to read)
ACTIVITIES
May 2016
International launch of The GIFF Project and dialogue at the OECD-ICGLR-UN GoE Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains in Paris, France. Read the International Dialogue Report.
Aug - Oct 2016
The GIFF Project blog series, featuring contributions on topics related to gold, IFFs, ASM formalisation and more. Guest contributors included Khadija Sharife, Felix Hruschka, Mark Mattner, Marcena Hunter, Mike Loch, Livia Wagner, Estelle Levin-Nally, Shawn Blore, and Etienne Atger.
Jul 2016
Field research project to Sierra Leone undertaken to develop tools for identifying IFFs in gold supply chains. This research project formed the basis of the case study 'Follow the Money: Financial Flows Linked to Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining in Sierra Leone'.
Mar 2017
‘Follow the Money: A Handbook for Identifying Financial Flows Linked to Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining’, a landmark handbook that provides practical tools, techniques, methodologies and pointers for stakeholders seeking to broaden their understanding of and engage with the financial flows linked to ASGM, is launched in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Mar 2017
Presentation of The GIFF Project tools, methodologies and recommendations to the GIZ Working Group on Transnational Organized Crime in Bonn, Germany.
Jun 2017
Presentation of The GIFF Project tools, methodologies and recommendations to United States of America government officials, including the Department of Labor, the Department of State, and USAID.
Jul 2017
'Follow the Money', The GIFF Project handbook, is translated into Spanish by the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative, implementing partner for the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru. Read 'Sigue el Dinero: Un manual para la identificación de los flujos financieros ilícitos (IFF) vinculados a la Minería de oro artesanal en pequeña escala'.
Summer 2017
Fieldwork conducted for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Gold Program in Mongolia and The Philippines.
Nov 2017
Two new reports identifying and examining gold and financial flows linked in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Mongolia and the Philippines launched.
For more information on the project, or to be put on our mailing list, please contact us at hello@levinsources.com.
