Illicit Financial Flows in Africa: Drivers, Destinations and Policy Options
- Washington, DC Africa Growth initiative 2020
- 24p.
- Policy Brief .
This paper provides an up-to-date examination of illicit financial flows from Africa from 1980 to 2018, assessing the drivers and destinations of illicit outflows and examines policy options to reduce them. Using trade misinvoicing and balance-of-payments discrepancies to estimate illicit financial flows, the paper finds higher real Gross Domestic Product is associated with higher illicit financial flows due to the increased opportunities to channel illicit resources abroad generated by higher economic activity, suggesting a need for increased diligence as economies grow.
