AfDB Warns Africa Bleeds $580bn Annually to Corruption, Illicit Flows
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has raised alarm over the massive financial haemorrhage facing the continent, disclosing that Africa loses over $580 billion yearly to corruption and illicit capital flight.
AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, in an interview with Bloomberg, explained that these losses exceed Africa’s capacity to fund its development, with the continent’s debt now approaching $2 trillion.
“It doesn’t matter how much water you pour into a bucket if the bucket is leaking. If you’re able to reduce the leakages to illicit capital, also corruption and all of these things, Africa will be able to keep a lot of these resources and meet the amount of infrastructure it needs,” Adesina said.
According to AfDB data, Africa loses about $1.6 billion daily to financial leakages, broken down into $90 billion in illicit flows, $275 billion through profit shifting by multinationals, and $148 billion linked to corruption.
These losses persist even as the continent faces an annual infrastructure financing shortfall of up to $170 billion. Instead of channelling resources into critical projects, many African nations are weighed down by debt servicing obligations, which have reached their highest levels since the early 2000s debt crisis.
The AfDB further warned that some countries now spend more on debt interest payments than on healthcare, underscoring the gravity of the challenge.
The Bank’s 2025 African Economic Outlook also flagged Nigeria’s debt burden, projecting that 75% of the nation’s revenue will go into interest payments in 2025. It cautioned that reckless borrowing, economic slowdowns, or rising interest rates could worsen Africa’s already fragile fiscal position.
