This February 2011 report from Global Financial Integrity, “Illicit Financial Flows from the Least Developed Countries: 1990-2008,” commissioned by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), examines how structural characteristics of Least Developed Countries could be facilitating the cross-border transfer of illicit funds, discusses methodological issues underlying estimates of illicit flows, presents an analysis of the magnitude of such flows, and makes policy recommendations for the curtailment of these illicit flows.
In her opening remarks for the UNDP Conference yesterday, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said, “Illicit flows seriously impede LDCs’ efforts to raise resources for social and economic development. These flows are often absorbed into banks, tax havens, and offshore financial centers in developed countries.”