Opportunities to follow up on the FFD4 and the Sevilla Commitment (Sept.2025)

This event follows up on the Financing for Development Conference (FFD4) and its final Outcome Document, the Sevilla Commitment, which highlights the media’s critical role in exposing illicit financial flows. Building on FFD4’s focus on transparency, accountability, and public engagement in development financing, the event aims to strengthen support for journalists and media in combating financial misconduct worldwide.

Date: 23 September 2025

Time: 15:00–16:00 CET

Location: GFMD Zoom - register here.

The outcome document contains an important reference to the media’s role in exposing illicit financial flows (IFFs).

Sevilla Commitment 29 b) “ We will support the role that the media and civil society play in fairly, transparently and ethically exposing illicit financial flows”

This session aims to:

• Identify opportunities for engaging in the implementation of the Sevilla Commitment and make the case for supporting the media, including increasing the capacity of journalists and media organisations to combat illicit finance.

• Collect data and evidence demonstrating how journalists contribute to exposing financial misconduct.

• Produce advocacy documents, case studies, and stories to engage states and organisations, including the World Bank, in supporting investigative journalists’ critical role in combating illicit financial flows.

"The economic return of the Panama Papers investigation, for example, has led, nine years later, to national tax agencies having been able to recover a total of USD 1.86 billion. For France alone, the Panama Papers and similar investigations have enabled the government to reclaim over EUR 450 million.(International Finance Corporation Review. (2025, April). " - The Economic Imperative of Investing in Public Interest Media: A statement by 11 of the world's leading economists - Forum on Infrmation an Democracy, Sept 2025

This online meeting will feed into a side event that GFMD will organise at the GJIN conference in Kuala Lumpur in November 2025.

Agenda

Time (CEST)	Item	Minutes
15:00 – 15:05	Welcome and introduction	5
15:05 – 15:20	Opportunities & strategies to link media with FFD4 implementation • Key initiatives and areas for engagement • Strategies for aligning journalism with Sevilla Commitment	15
15:20 – 15:40	Spotlight on impact: How media exposes illicit financial flows • Breakthrough investigative stories • Lessons learned and measurable impact	20
15:40 – 16:00	Way forward: Making the case for stronger support • Strengthening advocacy and resource mobilization • Next steps, collaboration opportunities, and key takeaways	20

Meeting objective:

For the journalism and media support community—particularly investigative journalism and public media focused on illicit financial flows, transparency, accountability, and public engagement in development financing—the follow-up on FFD4, based on the Outcome Document, seeks to continue advocating for the resources required to carry out this work.

Read the the Sevilla Commitment.