01282nam a22001097a 4500 Dogbevi, E.K. ECOWAS Region Loses $268b to Illicit Financial Flows in 10 Years Ghana Creative Imaginations Publicity 2016 The article unpacks computations of figures from the GFI report in which ECOWAS is said to be losing some $268 billion to illicit financial flows (IFFs) within a 10 year period from 2004 to 2013, .The region with a population of about 335 million people, which is about one-third of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, has an estimated GDP of around $345 billion. The loss is therefore, approximately a colossal 78 per cent. Nigeria suffers the biggest hit, with a loss of over $178 billion within that period. The menace of illicit financial flows from Africa in general is a major source of leakage of much needed funds for development. With the continent losing an estimated $50 to $60 billion a year, the need to initiate a more purposeful effort at curbing the flows is more urgent than ever – more importantly, as the countries in the region are aiming at meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, while grappling with growing debts. iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff/ECOWAS region loses.pdf NA 848 848