Africa loses $88.6 billion annually to illicit financial flows – FG

By Ochiaka Ugwu

The African continent loses an estimated $88.6 billion annually in illicit financial flows, equivalent to about 3% of Africa’s GDP, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has revealed.

Tuggar, who made the announcement on Monday at the sixth annual general meeting of the Network of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa (NACIWA) in Abuja, said the menace of corruption is closely linked to illicit financial flows (IFF), which drain billions of dollars out of Africa every year.

According to Tuggar, “the continent loses an estimated US$88.6 billion in illicit financial flows each year, equivalent to about 3% of Africa’s GDP. These funds, often hidden in tax havens and opaque financial systems, represent stolen resources that could have been used to build schools, hospitals, roads and other critical infrastructure.

“Illicit financial flows weaken our economies, deprive governments of vital revenues, and deepen the cycle of poverty and suffering. The link between illicit funds and insecurity is clear – where there is widespread corruption and financial crime, there is instability and conflict.

“Corruption is a cancer that has eaten deep into the fabric of our societies. In Africa, it is a persistent obstacle to development, undermining institutions, eroding public trust and exacerbating poverty and inequality. Nigeria, unfortunately, is no stranger to this. The cost of corruption is not just financial, it is a matter of life and death, as it fuels radicalization and discontent, and in turn insecurity, terrorism, banditry and human trafficking.

“At the regional level, West African countries suffer from weak or even failing local governance, particularly in border areas. Criminal gangs engaged in smuggling, arms trafficking and other illegal activities exploit this to provide a semblance of order and relative stability, undermining and sometimes replacing the authority of local governments.

“The rise of Boko Haram in the northeast (which has thankfully now been completely degraded), banditry in northwest Nigeria and the methamphetamine drug cartels in the southeast are instructive,” he said.