African Development Bank Partners with Interpol to Combat Financial Crime and Strengthen Anti-Corruption Efforts in Africa
African Development Bank Group (www.afdb.org) Today, a letter of intent was signed with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), taking an important step in the fight against corruption and financial crime. The banking group is the first multilateral development bank to establish such cooperation with Interpol.
The letter of intent was signed on Wednesday by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Chairman of the African Development Bank Group, and Valdecy Urquiza, Secretary General of Interpol, who visited the bank’s headquarters in Abidjan.
The partnership will strengthen cooperation between the Bank’s Office of Integrity and the Office of Anti-Corruption (https://apo-opa.co/3qrb4ku) and Interpol’s Center for Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption. It will focus on sharing expertise, enhancing investigative capabilities, and developing preventive measures against emerging financial crime threats, including cybercrime, anti-corruption measures and counter-terrorism financing.
The initiative is due to the significant challenges facing Africa’s illegal financial flows, estimated to be nearly $90 billion a year, which could otherwise be invested in critical development needs, including water, sanitation, health, food, food and energy infrastructure.
Adesina said that as an institution that deploys about $10 billion in development financing annually, most people spend on government projects, the African Development Bank Group has important insights into regional financial flows and development challenges.
“This partnership demonstrates our commitment to protecting development resources and ensuring they meet their intended beneficiaries,” Adesina said. “As the world’s most transparent financial institution in two consecutive versions (https://apo-opa.co/41O3TVT(Our tolerance for corruption and terrorism financing is zero based on the funds published for your assessment of your sovereign portfolio. By joining with Interpol, we are strengthening our efforts to help African countries build strong institutions that violate money laundering and financial crimes ability.”
The rapid development of digital technology has also led to an increase in financial crimes supporting the Internet. According to Interpol’s 2024 Global Financial Fraud Assessment, commercial email compromises, romantic baits, phishing and other online fraud pose an increasingly serious threat to Africa’s digital economy.
Secretary-General Urquiza, who was elected in November 2024, said: “Corruption and financial crime are the biggest obstacles to economic and social development in Africa and around the world. The evolving nature of financial crime, especially in the digital world. In the environment, strong partnerships between law enforcement agencies and financial institutions are needed. The close relationship between Interpol and the African Development Bank Group will help law enforcement agencies and financial institutions in Africa address increasingly complex threats of financial crime.”
Adesina said the bank will continue to address these challenges in the following ways.
- Build capacity and support African countries to strengthen transparent and responsible governance, as well as strong institutions that drive inclusive and sustainable growth and resilient economies.
- Strengthen understanding of your customers and due diligence systems to prevent and resist fraud and corruption.
- Ensure that the bank’s resources are used in a transparent and responsible manner for their intended purposes, this practice has led to the bank’s two consecutive versions being regarded as the most transparent multilateral development bank in the world, which is through publishing your funding.
The senior INTERPOL delegation accompanied by Secretary-General Urquiza included Mr. Silvino Schlickmann, Director of Governance, and Ms. Paule Ouedraogo, Head of the Regional Bureau of Interpol.
The African Development Bank Group is represented by members of President Adesina’s senior management team, including Ms. Paula Da Costa, Director of the Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption.
Distributed by Apo Group on behalf of the African Development Bank Group (AFDB).
image: https://apo-opa.co/3qr31cv
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