Illicit financial flows drain scarce resources and undermine efforts to achieve sustainable development in the poorest countries. However, until recently, little attention has been paid to this phenomenon. This Issue Brief provides a snapshot of the magnitude and main drivers behind illicit financial flows from eight low-income and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) over the last four decades: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia. The objective of the Issue Brief is threefold:

(1) to raise awareness of the problem of illicit financial flows in the poorest countries;

(2) to provide policy makers and practitioners at the national level with a methodology to estimate the illicit financial flows; and

(3) to explore strategic options and contribute to the policy debate within developing countries on initiatives that could stem illicit financial flows and prevent further leakages of scarce resources from these countries.