AFDB1JP00001649

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As part of the assignment and under the overall supervision of the Bank’s IFF Governance Specialist and in consultation with the World Gold Council’s Senior Policy Lead, the consultants will be responsible for the delivery of the following outputs:
a) The main study report
• Undertake country-level research and stakeholder engagement, analyse corruption risks and institutional weaknesses in the gold mining value chain, and provide the empirical evidence needed to support the regional economic analysis.
• Estimate, to the extent permitted by available evidence, the scale and economic value of IFFs associated with gold production, domestic trade, cross-border movement, and exports in the four countries.
• Map the drivers of IFF and corruption in the gold value chain from extraction through aggregation, processing, financing, transportation, domestic trading, cross-border movement, export, and international sale.
• Examine the economic incentives underlying informal and illicit gold production and trade, including taxation, royalties, licensing costs, exchange rates, transaction costs, gold-price differentials, financing arrangements, and regulatory requirements.
• Analyse the relationship between corruption and IFFs, including vulnerabilities in licensing, production reporting, gold buying, customs, border management, taxation, export certification, and regulatory enforcement.
• Examine cross-border differences in regulatory and fiscal regimes and assess whether these differences create arbitrage opportunities that influence the direction of gold and financial flows.
• Review past and current reform efforts to combat IFF and assess both their alignment with international best practices and their actual and/or expected impact in resolving the identified key weaknesses. This should include examining the role of development partners in supporting reforms.
• Identify the principal actors, beneficiaries, intermediaries, and institutional relationships involved in formal and informal gold smuggling.
• Assess the fiscal and broader economic consequences of IFFs, including potential losses in tax revenue, royalties, export earnings, foreign exchange, formal employment, and local economic development.
• Assess the implications of gold-sector IFFs for ASM formalization, responsible sourcing, governance, and regional economic integration.
• Develop evidence-based policy recommendations for national governments, regional institutions, donors, civil society, and private-sector actors to effectively combat IFFs in the sector.
• The Lead consultant will additionally be expected to:
 develop the overall research framework, analytical approach, methodology and detailed work plan for the eight-country study.
 Coordinate and supervise the second consultant's work and integrate both consultants' outputs into a coherent analytical framework;
 Prepare and manage the research schedule, milestones and allocation of responsibilities;
 Monitor progress, identify research gaps and ensure timely delivery of outputs
b) Policy Notes
- Drafting of high-level policy notes that summarizes the study findings and presents the main policy recommendations for all stakeholders (i.e. the countries concerned, development partners, creditors)
c) High-level Policy Dialogue

- Planning and delivery of a high-level webinar to validate and present the findings and policy recommendations to stakeholders including policy practitioners and decision makers, civil society, and regional organizations. This will also entail organizing a high-level policy dialogue in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

Inception report outlining the consultant’s proposed approach and workplan - 10 days after contract signature - 5%
First draft report and Final report delivered and incorporating all comments and observations from the Bank. - 90 days after contract signature -50%
(i) Delivery of policy notes/Policy briefs summarizing the key findings of the study and outlining actionable recommendations for governments, policymakers and development partners; and (ii) Organization of a high-level policy dialogues/webinar to present the findings and recommendations. 120 days after contract signature 30%
Final report 130 days after contract signature 15%

24. The period of the contract will be six (6) months. The service of the Consultants starts in December 2026. The consultants will work remotely. However, all travel expenses shall be met by the Bank.

3. Bank’s Strategy for Economic Governance in Africa (SEGA) 2021-2025 highlights the importance of supporting RMCs in the fight against Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and money laundering. Indeed, preventing IFFs and money laundering is seen as key to combatting corruption and to increasing domestic resource mobilization, both of which are sub-pillars of the strategy. Under SEGA, efforts to tackle IFFs will include (i) eliminating tax loopholes and facilitating tax controls, (ii) establishing public registries of verified beneficial ownership of legal entities and assets, and (iii) building state capacity to address trade mispricing and mis-invoicing. Further, the Bank Group Action Plan for Anti- Money Laundering and Combatting Illicit Financial Flows (2024 - 2026) prioritize capacity building of RMCs and RECs to effectively combat IFFs. Curbing IFFs will also require enhanced international collaboration and the adoption of international standards, such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations on Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (AEOI), and Extractive Industry Transparency Initiatives (EITI), among others. To deliver on these efforts, the strategy underlines the importance of knowledge work as an enabler of both policy dialogue to promote evidence-based policy-reform choices in RMCs as well as in the design of Bank operations to effectively support such reforms.

Abidjan