A massive amount of $2.5 billion was illegally siphoned out of Pakistan between 2003 and 2010, according to a study released by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research and advocacy organisation.
The report, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2001-2010,” is GFI’s annual update on the amount of money flowing out of developing economies via crime, corruption and tax evasion.
The report said $44 million were illegally transferred from Pakistan in 2003, $202 million in 2005, $505 million in 2007, $728 million in 2008, $298 million in 2009 and $729 million in 2010.
The study said crime, corruption and tax evasion cost the developing world $858.8 billion in 2010, just below the all-time high of $871.3 billion set in 2008, the year preceding the global financial crisis.
“Astronomical sums of dirty money continue to flow out of the developing world and into offshore tax havens and developed country banks,” said GFI Director Raymond Baker.
“Regardless of the methodology, it’s clear: developing economies are haemorrhaging more and more money at a time when rich and poor nations alike are struggling to spur economic growth,” he said.
The $858.8 billion of illicit outflows lost in 2010 was a significant uptick from 2009, which saw developing countries lose $776.0 billion under the new methodology. The study estimates the developing world lost a total of $5.86 trillion over the decade spanning 2001 through 2010.
“This has very big consequences for developing economies,” explained Ms Freitas, a co-author of the report.
“Poor countries lost nearly a trillion dollars that could have been used to invest in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. It’s nearly a trillion dollars that could have been used to pull people out of poverty and save lives.”
Dr Kar and Freitas’ research tracks the amount of illegal capital flowing out of 150 different developing countries over the 10-year period from 2001 through 2010, and it ranks the countries by magnitude of illicit outflows.
According to the report, the 15 biggest exporters of illicit financial flows over the decade were China with $2.74 trillion, Mexico $476 billion, Malaysia $285 billion, Saudi Arabia $210 billion, Russia $152 billion, Philippines $138 billion, Nigeria $129 billion, India $123 billion, Indonesia $109 billion, UAE $107 billion, Iraq $63.6 billion, South Africa $83.9 billion, Thailand $64.3 billion, Costa Rice $63.7 billion and Qatar $56.1 billion.
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It looks like there is some mistake with the illicit transfer of money from Pakistan. The actual amount will be many times more. Ruling elite of this unfortunate country is efficient in transferring money from exchequer into their personal bank accounts, this is the only job that they do.
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