Africa is hemorrhaging an estimated $88.6 billion each year through illicit financial flows, undermining development and economic stability across the continent, according to a new report from Ghana’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).
The report highlights how illegal capital flight, tax evasion, money laundering, corruption, and activities such as illegal mining are stripping African countries of vital resources needed for infrastructure, healthcare, education, and sustainable development.
These losses continue to dampen foreign direct investment (FDI) and derail national economic transformation agendas.
In Ghana, efforts to clamp down on financial crime yielded 42 convictions for money laundering-related offenses in 2023, with fraud (22 convictions) and forgery (17 convictions) being the most common. The FIC credited ongoing reforms and increased institutional collaboration for the progress.
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At a sensitization forum in Tamale themed “Building Political Will and Public Support for Asset Recovery in Ghana,” FIC representative Yvette Anthea Owusu stressed the need for stronger media and civil society engagement.
She called on journalists and NGOs to serve as watchdogs, noting that illicit financial flows deprive governments of critical funding for development.
The event was organized by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) with support from the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
The three-month initiative spans five regions and aims to raise awareness of asset recovery frameworks and the role of civic actors.
Echoing similar sentiments, Benjamin Ndego of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) emphasized the importance of legal tools such as plea bargaining and appealed for more funding and political support.
GACC’s Solomon Nyankah noted that the campaign aims to empower media and civil society to raise public understanding of asset recovery and financial accountability.
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