Financial Transparency Coalition

On Sunday, US Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a promissory gem to the leaders gathered in Uganda, the pearl of Africa. It was not a pledge of more foreign aid for the continent – which has tripled since 2000 – but it could bring billions of dollars to Africa:

“ I’m pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Justice is launching a new Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative aimed at combating large-scale foreign official corruption and recovering public funds for their intended – and proper – use:...

"No nation with which I am familiar has descended so deeply into this suffocating abyss as Nigeria.” -Raymond Baker Africa’s most populous nation, recently welcomed home Nuhu Ribadu, its respected former corruption czar, after an 18 month exile in Britain. Ribadu ran Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from 2003 to 2007 before deciding to leave the country, fearing for his life. He uncovered vast corruption, initiating over a thousand cases and winning an impressive share of convictions. In one case, he investigated the inspector general...

While Asia and Latin America have seen dramatic reductions in poverty over the last several decades, Africa remains as poor, by some accounts even poorer, than fifty years ago. Indeed, of the 26 countries classified with “low human development” by the UN Development Program, all but two are in Sub-Saharan Africa. For decades, billions of dollars in foreign aid have been channeled to the continent, but have had little effect on alleviating poverty. Building strong institutions, solid infrastructure and a vibrant private sector requires things far more intangible than simply dollars. But let us not...