Pirate Trails: Tracking the Illicit Financial Flows from Piracy off the Horn of Africa

It is estimated that more than US$400 million was claimed in ransoms for pirate acts between April 2005 and December 2012 and 179 ships were hijacked off the coast of Somalia and the Horn of Africa during that time.

Twenty first century Somali Piracy not only creates problems in the region, but also has a global impact. Unchallenged piracy is not only a menace to political stability and a threat to international security, but it also undermines global growth prospects going forward. Up until now, little attention has been paid to tracking and disrupting the financial flows from piracy.

See full Press Release: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTFINANCIALSECTOR/0,,contentMDK:23491862~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:282885,00.html