Could abolishing tax havens solve Africa's financing needs?

Increased financial transparency is critical to stem the illicit capital outflows that are crippling Africa

The past month, the spotlight has been on James Ibori, the governor of Nigeria's Delta state from 1999 to 2007, who pleaded guilty in a London court to 10 counts relating to conspiracy to launder funds from the state he governed.

Ibori was accused of siphoning off an estimated $250m and laundering it in London through a number of offshore companies and financial intermediaries to fund his extravagant lifestyle of lavish mansions, expensive cars and private jets. This mode of illicit capital flight is by no means restricted to one rogue Nigerian governor or even African leaders at large, nor is it the most important means by which capital leaves the continent (and developing countries generally) illicitly.

To read the entire article, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/mar/19/abolish-tax-heavens-africa-financial-transparency

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