$580bn lost annually to corruption, illicit outflows in Africa – AfDB

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has disclosed that the continent is losing more than $580 billion annually to corruption and illicit capital outflows. AfDB Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, in an interview with Bloomberg  noted that the loss continues to undermine the continent’s economic progress and deepen its debt woes. With an almost $2trillion debt burden, […]

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has disclosed that the continent is losing more than $580 billion annually to corruption and illicit capital outflows.

AfDB Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, in an interview with Bloomberg  noted that the loss continues to undermine the continent’s economic progress and deepen its debt woes.

With an almost $2trillion debt burden, he stated that ending corruption is imperative to reduce the debt pile.

“It doesn’t matter how much water you pour into a bucket if the bucket is leaking. If you’re able to reduce the leakages to illicit capital, corruption and all of these things, Africa will be able to keep a lot of these resources and meet the amount of infrastructure it needs,” Adesina said.

The President also estimated that Africa loses about $1.6 billion every single day to what it calls “financial leakages.”

This includes $90 billion annually in illicit financial flows, $275 billion lost through profit-shifting by multinational corporations, and $148 billion siphoned off due to corruption.

Adesina stressed that while access to concessional financing and debt restructuring are important, curbing corruption and illicit outflows remains the single most crucial step to safeguarding Africa’s resources and reducing its reliance on debt.