This briefing paper, analyzing illicit financial flows from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was Global Financial Integrity’s first macroeconomic analysis of capital flight from a particular country.
The study, authored by GFI Chief Economist Dev Kar, found that the DRC lost an estimated US$15.5 billion in illicit capital flight from 1980 through 2006. According to the report, “pervasive corruption,” and trade mispricing in goods and services led to a per annum loss of nearly $600 million dollars from the DRC economy. Kar notes, “With that money, the DRC could have paid off its entire external debt, which is $11.2 billion.”
Global Financial Integrity recommends citing from the most recently released research. The most recent annual report is Illicit Financial Flows to and from 148 Developing Countries: 2006-2015.