AfDB creator text Abidjan African Development Bank 2013 monographic 3p. The report focuses on IFF activities in Africa for over 30 years (1980-2009), in which close to US $1.4 trillion were drained out of Africa. Most of the capital flights being illegal in nature and mainly a result of corruption, kickbacks, tax evasion, criminal activities, transactions of certain contraband goods, and other illicit business activities across borders. The geographical distribution of the “unrecorded capital flows” or illicit capital flight was uneven, with West and Central Africa surpassing the other regions at US $494 billion (37%), followed by North Africa (US $415.6 billion or 31%) and Southern Africa (US $370 billion or 27%). The top five countries with the highest illicit financial outflows during 2000-2009 were Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Libya. The root causes of illicit financial flows are given(ranging from weak financial management systems, to political and macroeconomic instability, lack of financial liberalization, and search for higher returns on investment) , their impact on economic development in Africa cannot be underestimated. The direct and indirect consequences of those illicit financial flows are major constraints for Africa’s transformation. The high corruption coupled with the risk and uncertainty of the domestic economy weakens the economic and social measures put in place, henceforth limiting the prospect for more inclusive growth. The incentives for illicit financial transactions are closely related to the high rates of savings and investments, particularly the private sector. ADVANCE FREE -FRAUD, BANKING SECRECY, CAPITAL FLIGHT, CORRUPTION http://iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff/hemorrhage_of_illicit_financial_flows_in_africa.docx http://iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff/hemorrhage_of_illicit_financial_flows_in_africa.docx