Nigeria: The Country Tops List of Money Laundering Nations

Nigeria is leading seven other West African countries with highest rate of money laundering.

A report by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) in 2010 put Nigeria on the top of seven countries of the region which lose an estimated sum of US$73 billion (about N11.6 trillion) annually through laundering of illicit money from the national economies of the affected countries.

“Nigeria is by far the dominant driver of illicit flows from the sub-Saharan region and Nigeria’s influence is also behind illicit flows from the group of fuel exporters,” pioneer Director of the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crimes (UNAFR), Prof Femi Odekunle, said yesterday.

Odenkule spoke in Zaria at GIABA’s annual public lecture on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU).

A breakdown of the figure shows that the countries lose US$43 billion and US$20 billion via tax evasion and corruption respectively and US$2 billion and US$612 million via drug trafficking and private sector fraud respectively while another sum off US$280 million is lost through human trafficking and related crimes.

He said: “The direct impact of money laundering is that it deprives the local economies of urgently-needed funds for development and it drains hard currency reserves, heightens inflation, reduces tax collection, cancels investment and undermines free trade.”
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