Illicit flows: the biggest losers | beyondbrics

Dodgy money is once again leaving emerging markets in large quantities: illicit flows out of 71 developing economies were worth $859bn in 2010, up from $776bn a year earlier. The latest figures is only slightly less than the all time high of $871bn recorded in 2008.

That is the conclusion of a report published this week by Global Financial Integrity and funded by the Ford Foundation

Illicit flows are the proceeds of tax evasion, crime and corruption. They are large in themselves and can add up to eye-watering figures over the long term. As beyondbrics reported in July, a study by the Tax Justice Network has estimated that since the 1970s wealthy individuals from low and middle income countries had accumulated between $7.3tn and $9.3tn in unrecorded offshore wealth, depriving governments and citizens of much-needed resources.

* username: rupertbu