WASHINGTON, DC – As the world commemorates International Anti-Corruption Day on Monday, December 9, 2013, Global Financial Integrity (GFI)—a Washington-based, non-profit research and advocacy organization—reviewed many of the most notable achievements, developments, and shortcomings in fighting corruption and illicit financial flows for 2013.
“2013 has proven to be a landmark year in terms of policy advancements to curtail corruption and illicit financial flows,” said GFI President Raymond Baker, a longtime authority on financial crime. “Years of hard work by policymakers, researchers, and advocates culminated in real, on-the-ground policy achievements that will directly impact the amount of money leaving developing countries. We saw a few setbacks, but overall the year was very encouraging.”
Tax Evasion, Crime, Corruption Major Detriments to Growth, Exacerbate Income Inequality
GFI: G20 Should Embrace Country-by-Country Reporting, Crack Down on Anonymous Shell Companies
Russian Crackdown on Civil Society “Casts a Dark Cloud” on Summit
WASHINGTON, DC – As world leaders prepare to meet in Moscow this week to discuss stagnating economic growth, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) urged G20 leaders to take strong action to curtail illicit financial flows, the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax evasion. The Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization called on world leaders to expand efforts to crackdown on abusive tax dodging and the anonymity surrounding anonymous shell companies.
Raymond Baker, the President of Global Financial Integrity, presents the findings of GFI’s February 2013 study, “Russia: Illicit Financial Flows and the Underground Economy,” during a discussion sponsored by the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC. The presentation is moderated by William Pomeranz of the Kennan Institute.
Bank of Russia Governor: $50 Billion Illegally Flowed Out of Russia in 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – According to media reports, the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia stated Wednesday that roughly $50 billion was illegally siphoned out of Russia in 2012, echoing research published last week by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization, which estimated that an annual average of $62 billion was illicitly smuggled out of Russia in recent years.
Cyprus a “Laundry Machine for Dirty Russian Money”
Illegal Inflows of Capital Estimated at US$552.9 Billion; Driving Underground Economy, Crime, Tax Evasion
US$764.3 Billion in Total Illicit Flows (Inflows + Outflows) Measured
Russia’s Underground Economy Averages 46% of GDP, 35% in 2011; Weak Governance and Endemic Tax Evasion Lead to Increasing Outflows
WASHINGTON, DC – The Russian economy hemorrhaged US$211.5 billion in illicit financial outflows from 1994—the earliest year for which data is available following the dissolution of the Soviet Union—through 2011, according to a new report released Wednesday by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization. The study, titled “Russia: Illicit Financial Flows and the Role of the Underground Economy,” [HTML | PDF] also measures massive illicit inflows to the Russian economy of $552.9 billion over the 18-year time-span, raising serious questions about the economic and political stability of the nation currently chairing the G20.
Nation Was Third Largest Hemorrhager of Illicit Flows Worldwide According to Forthcoming Global Financial Integrity Report
WASHINGTON, DC – Russia hemorrhaged over US$501 billion in illicit financial outflows in the ten years following Vladimir Putin’s rise to power according to a forthcoming report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research and advocacy organization. The study, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries over the Decade Ending 2009, finds the nation lost more than US$50 billion per year from 2000 through 2009—making it the third largest victim of illegal capital flight.
By Dev Kar, January 20, 2011
New Global Financial Integrity Report Reveals Russia is Losing US$50 Billion Annually in Illicit Outflows
Recent news from Russia confirms that corruption is a serious issue that, unless curbed, can prevent the country from emerging as a global economic powerhouse. Corruption in Russia has been a hangover from the Soviet Union days. It is just that the forces of globalization have provided old hands and the up-and-coming younger generation of Russians with unprecedented opportunities to make money under the table. Of course, the exponential increase in Russia’s natural resource exports (such as petroleum products and natural gas) has not helped matters as far as overall governance is concerned. There is simply too much money in the hands of the too few.
Country Loses Over US$50 Billion Per Year; Second Highest Illicit Financial Outflows in Developing World
WASHINGTON, DC – A new report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI), “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2000-2009,” released this week shows that Russia has the second highest measured illicit outflows out of the developing world–US$427 billion from 2000-2008, an average of US$53 billion per year.
