October 1, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Colombian NGO Cedetrabajo, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) publishes a new report, “Illicit Financial Flows & Colombia.”
GFI estimates the Colombian government lost US$2.8 billion in revenue to trade misinvoicing in 2016, finding a value gap of US$10.8 billion between the trade values reported by Colombia and those reported by all of its trading partners in 2016. GFI further estimates that illicit outflows from Colombia due to misinvoicing totaled US$6.1 billion, while illicit inflows reached US$4.8 billion in 2016.
Examining the illicit financial flows most impacting Colombia today, the EIU found that Colombia’s significant informal economy provides a favorable environment for illicit activities of many types, including trade misinvoicing, grand corruption, tax evasion, smuggling and transnational crime.
Tom Cardamone, President & CEO of Global Financial Integrity, issued the following statement:
“At a time when Colombia has taken in over 1.4 million Venezuelan refugees, the country cannot afford to lose significant revenue to illicit financial flows that is rightly owed to the state. This report finds a staggering amount of illicit financial activity in the country, but also notes critical ways the Colombian government can start curbing revenue losses today. Colombia is a country rich in resources and that should be a source of revenue to the government, not illicit actors.”
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Journalist Contact:
Maureen Heydt
Communications Coordinator, Global Financial Integrity
+1 202 293 0740 ext. 227
mheydt@gfintegrity.org