ABIDJAN, FEBRUARY 21, 2025—The African Development Bank (ADB) Group has taken a significant step in fighting corruption and financial crime by signing a Letter of Intent with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
The Letter of Intent was signed by ADB President Dr Akinwumi Adesina and Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza, who visited the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan.
The partnership will enhance collaboration between the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption and Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre. 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.
This initiative comes as Africa faces significant challenges of illicit financial flows, estimated at nearly $90 billion annually—a loss of resources that could otherwise be invested in critical development needs including water, sanitation, health, food, and energy infrastructure.
“As an institution that deploys approximately $10 billion annually in development financing, with the majority going to government projects, the ADB Group brings crucial insight into regional financial flows and development challenges,” Adesina said.
“As the world’s most transparent financial institution for two consecutive editions [according to Publish What You Fund’s assessment of sovereign portfolios], we maintain zero tolerance for corruption and terrorism financing,” he added.
Rapid advancements in digital technology have also led to an increase in internet-enabled financial crimes.
According to Interpol’s 2024 Global Financial Fraud Assessment, business email compromise, romance baiting, phishing, and other online frauds pose growing threats to Africa’s digitalised economy.
Secretary General Urquiza, who was elected to his position in November 2024, said,
“Corruption and financial crime are among the biggest obstacles to economic and social development in Africa and around the world. The evolving nature of financial crime, particularly in the digital environment, requires strong partnerships between law enforcement and financial institutions. Interpol’s closer relationship with the African Development Bank Group will help law enforcement agencies and financial institutions across Africa tackle increasingly sophisticated financial crime threats,” said the banks Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza.
he said corruption and financial crime are among the biggest obstacles to economic and social development in Africa and around the world.
Adesina said the Bank will continue to tackle the challenges by building capacity and supporting African countries in strengthening transparent and accountable governance and strong institutions capable of driving inclusive and sustainable growth and resilient economies.
It will also focus more on strengthening ‘Know Your Customer and Due Diligence’ systems to prevent and to fight fraud and corruption as well as ensure that the Bank’s resources are used for their intended purposes in a transparent and accountable manner, a practice that has led to the Bank being recognised for two consecutive editions as the most transparent multilateral development bank in the world by ‘Publish What You Fund’
The high-level Interpol delegation that accompanied Secretary General Urquiza included Mr Silvino Schlickmann, Director of Governance and Ms Paule Ouedraogo, Head of Interpol’s Regional Bureau.
