Africa Loses $88.6 Billion Annually To Illicit Financial Flows

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Olanipekun Olukoyede, has disclosed that a whopping $88.6 billion is lost to illicit financial flows in Africa annually.
He stated this in Tunis, Tunisia on Thursday, June 27th, 2024 while delivering a keynote address at the Pan-African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Taxation.
Speaking on the theme “Africa’s Tax Agenda in Combatting Illicit Financial Flows: From Words to Action,” the EFCC boss emphasised the grave challenge posed by illicit financial flows to Africa’s economic stability and development.
He noted that over $88.6 billion is illicitly siphoned from the continent annually, funds that could otherwise be channelled towards critical infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
The EFCC Boss also underscored the importance of international cooperation, citing the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR), a partnership between the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as pivotal in facilitating these efforts. This meeting was organised by the African Union Advisory Board against Corruption (AUABC) and the African Union Commission-Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department (AUC-PAPS), in collaboration with the GIZ Global Program on Illicit Financial Flows (GP-IFF), focused on the establishment of the Pan-African Asset Recovery Practitioners Forum.