UNDP Webinar: the impact of illicit financial flows on cities

How does money laundering through the property market affect cities, housing affordability, and the quality of urban governance? These issues will be at the heart of the webinar "The Impact of Illicit Financial Flows in Cities", scheduled for Wednesday, 10 June at 4:00 pm CEST, as part of the UNDP SDG Local Solutions Series.

It is estimated that up to $1.6 trillion is laundered annually through the global real estate market, accounting for approximately 30% of the world's illicit financial flows. In many cities, particularly in countries of the Global South, this phenomenon drives up property prices, distorts land values, fuels gentrification, and excludes the most vulnerable segments of the population.

The webinar will explore the role of local authorities in identifying and countering these phenomena, highlighting tools, institutional innovations, and digital solutions increasingly used to strengthen transparency and reduce systemic risks. These include AI-supported transaction-monitoring systems and registers for identifying the ultimate beneficial ownership of property.

During the webinar, the results of an international research project on money laundering in the real estate sector across large metropolises and tourist destinations will also be presented. Speakers will include Fabiano Angélico, Senior Researcher at the Public Integrity Research Group (GRIP) of Università della Svizzera italiana.

The event will be moderated by Toril-Iren Pedersen, Director of the Global Policy Centre for Governance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Registration at the following link: https://undp.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7TAKXxJUTbWPegNZiN2SEw#/registration.