Trade-Related Illicit Financial Flows in the Middle East and North Africa (2013–2022)
March 23, 2026
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region occupies a singular position in global commerce. Home to over half the world’s proven oil reserves, the region’s hydrocarbon exports have long anchored international energy markets and generated trade volumes far exceeding what its population or non-oil economies alone would suggest. Fuel accounts for a significant share of MENA’s total exports, concentrated in a handful of countries where hydrocarbon pricing opacity and multi-year contract structures complicate independent valuation. This report applies Global Financial Integrity’s trade value gap methodology to MENA economies for the period 2013 to 2022. It compares what a given country reports as its exports to what its trading partners report receiving as imports from that country, and vice versa, flagging persistent bilateral discrepancies as potential indicators of trade misinvoicing.