Illicit financial flows (IFFs) continue to pose a major threat to Africa’s economic stability and development, draining vital resources needed for public services and long-term growth. A new report by Washington-based think tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI) has laid bare the scale of the problem, placing Ghana among the countries hardest hit over the past decade.
The report, titled Trade-Related Illicit Financial Flows in Africa, 2013–2022, estimates trade-related value gaps across all Sub-Saharan African countries between 2013 and 2022. According to GFI, these losses are largely driven by manipulated trade transactions that enable capital to be moved illegally out of African economies.
Ghana is estimated to have lost about US$54.1 billion to illicit financial flows over the 10-year period, ranking it third among the top 10 most affected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind only South Africa and Nigeria.
South Africa tops the continental list with an estimated US$478.1 billion in cumulative trade value gaps, accounting for about 42 percent of all trade-related IFFs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria follows with US$77.7 billion, while Côte d’Ivoire (US$47.7 billion) and Kenya (US$47.5 billion) complete the top five. Other countries in the top 10 include Zambia, Tanzania, Angola, Senegal, and Ethiopia.
GFI notes that the losses are primarily driven by trade misinvoicing and money laundering, describing them as some of the most severe sources of capital leakage on the continent. Trade misinvoicing involves the deliberate under- or over-declaration of the value of imports and exports on Customs invoices and is widely recognised as the dominant channel for illicit financial flows.
The report estimates that total trade value gaps across Sub-Saharan Africa reached US$152.9 billion in 2022, with no country making meaningful progress in curbing such losses during the period under review. Earlier studies suggest that trade mispricing alone could account for US$30–52 billion in illicit flows annually across Africa, potentially representing more than half of total IFF volumes.
For Ghana, a major exporter of gold, cocoa, and crude oil, the impact has been particularly damaging. The report indicates that about 28 percent of Ghana’s total trade value over the decade was affected by misinvoicing, exceeding the regional average of 24 percent. In practical terms, nearly three out of every ten dollars in Ghana’s international trade were linked to illicit flows.
Illicit outflows from Ghana rose steadily over the decade, increasing from US$4.7 billion in 2013 to a peak of over US$9 billion in 2021, before easing to US$6 billion in 2022. These cumulative losses place Ghana firmly among the three most affected economies in the region.
GFI warned that Africa has effectively become a net creditor to the world, as cumulative illicit capital flight has exceeded the continent’s external debt stock in recent years. The report further revealed that South Africa recorded the largest trade value gap in transactions with advanced economies, amounting to US$238.4 billion, far ahead of Nigeria’s US$29.7 billion. Ghana followed with US$20.5 billion, highlighting significant mispricing in trade with developed partners in Europe and North America.
High-value commodity exports such as oil, gold, and diamonds were identified as especially vulnerable to misinvoicing due to pricing opacity and power imbalances between African exporters and multinational buyers.
Beyond the macroeconomic impact, GFI stressed the serious social consequences of illicit financial flows. Countries with high IFF levels spend, on average, 25 percent less on health and 58 percent less on education than countries with lower losses. For Ghana, the billions lost annually translate into funding shortfalls for schools, hospitals, and infrastructure, while increasing dependence on borrowing.
Across Africa, GFI estimates that tax revenue losses linked to illicit financial flows amount to about US$17 billion every year, worsening debt pressures and constraining development financing.
To address the challenge, the report urged governments to strengthen Customs capacity, deploy advanced data analytics, and tighten legal frameworks to criminalise trade misinvoicing and money laundering. GFI also called for the establishment of public beneficial ownership registries to expose shell companies, noting that only 15 African countries have implemented such systems so far.
“With decisive action from tightening trade oversight to reclaiming stolen assets African nations can significantly curtail illicit financial flows,” GFI said, stressing that reversing these losses is critical to achieving sustainable development, economic sovereignty, and improved living standards across the continent.
source: GBC
