THE pioneer Director of the United Nations Africa Institute for the Prevention of Crime, Prof. Femi Odekunle, has lamented thatNigeria tops the list of countries in theWest African sub-region with the highest amount of capital flight toother economies outside the continent of Africa yearly.Odekunle said at a public lecture organised by the Inter-Governmental Group Action Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zariathat Nigeria was among seven West African countries thatloses about $73 billion (N11.680 trillion) to illicit money outflow every year.While citing reports by GIABA ata lecture entitled: 'The Consequences of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing on Economic Development on member states of ECOWAS', Odekunle explained that out of this figure, $43 billion is lost yearly by the seven countries through tax evasion and 20 billion dollars through corruption.Besides, Odekunle, who was Political Adviser to General Oladipo Diya during the Abacha regime, also argued that $7 billion of the money is lost through oil bunkering, $2 billion through drug trafficking, $612 million through private sector fraud and $280 million through human trafficking.He pointed out that studies have shown that total illicit financial flows out of Africa into western economies more than double from $854 billion in 1970 to 1.8 trillion in 2008, with the West and Central Africa regions including Nigeria being the dominant driver of the illicit flows from sub Saharan Africa.According to him, Nigeria's influence is also behind illicit flows from the group of fuel exporters, adding that findings revealed that the country tops the list with the highest cumulative illicit outflows.Odekunle pointed out that the estimate did not include illicit flows generated due to smuggling, trade in narcotics and contraband, violation of intellectual property right, human trafficking, sex trade and other illegal activities.He noted that the direct impact of money laundering is that it deprives the local economies of urgently needed funds for development, adding that the impact of the illicit financial flows and the funds it shifts out of Africa is staggering.He insisted that the scenario 'drains hard currency reserves, heightens inflation, reduces tax collection, cancel investment and undermines free trade.''It has its greatest impact on those at the bottom of income scales, removing resources that could otherwise be used for development. Therefore, the impact of money laundering on development is perhaps better considered as the consequences of these predicate crime, which impact/consequences for development have been more than acknowledged.'He also contended that the problem of money laundering and the assorted criminality that feed the phenomenon has been of serious concern to the economies of various countries all over the world for decades, stressing that since the 9/11 event that shook the U.S.A and most of the developing world, the menace of terrorist financing has created worries for the security of nations and regions across the globe.He further argued, 'money laundering and terrorist financing in isolation or in combination constitute actual potential saboteurs of the economies and security of nations, regions and even the world. The varying concerns of the different countries to the related problems of money laundering and terrorist financing notwithstanding, the response by the west has been near unanimous.
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