The Executive Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, said that a staggering $88.6billion has been lost to illicit financial flows in Africa annually.
According to an EFCC statement, Olukoyede had stated this in Tunis, Tunisia on Thursday, June 27 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 chairmanemphasised the grave challenge that is posed by illicit financial flows to Africa’s economic stability and development.
He also 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.
At the conference that brought together key stakeholders to discuss pioneering approaches to asset recovery and financial reintegration in Africa, Olukoyede discussed the role of the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR) in providing a united stance for African nations.
He 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.
The EFCC chairman also shared notable success stories, including Nigeria’s repatriation of $311 million of the Abacha loot from the United States in 2020.
The recovery, he stated, was achieved through collaboration with international partners and has been allocated to vital infrastructure projects such as the Second Niger Bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
He detailed how Nigeria is utilising the money for developmental projects aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Olukoyede had further incorporated outcomes from the recent high-level technical stakeholders meeting which was held in Addis Ababa from May 28-30, 2024.
The meeting, which 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.
Addressing the challenges and the obstacles in asset recovery, Olukoyede thereby highlighted the technical, legal, and political hurdles that complicate the process of tracing, freezing, and repatriating illicit funds and called for the strengthening of legal and institutional frameworks across African countries to better combat IFFs.
He stressed the need for capacity building, robust legal frameworks, and enhanced coordination and cooperation at national, regional, and international levels.
He also advocated the use of advanced technologies such as data analytics, blockchain, and artificial intelligence to improve asset tracking and recovery efforts
Chinedum Anayo