Foreign companies operating in Africa siphon US$ 1.5 trillion illicitly every year from Africa in the form of hard currency, leading to high inflation and deepening income gaps, a report by an African Union-backed think-tank said Friday. The report by the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial flows from Africa, a group created by the African finance ministers in 2011, under the leadership of former South African President Thabo Mbeki, said the funds were wired back to rich states, draining hard currency reserves in Africa.