TIRANA, Dec. 16 – Albania lost $1.2 billion in illicit financial flows from 2004 to 2013 at an average of $123 million annually during the decade which ranks the country 118th among 149 economies, according to a study published by Global Financial Integrity, a U.S.-based research and advocacy organization.
The study shows illicit financial flows, which involves illegal movements of money or capital from one country to another, dropped to $18 million in 2013, down from $36 million in 2012, $255 million in 2011 and a record high of $305 million in 2008.
The illegal capital outflows stem from tax evasion, crime, corruption, and other illicit activity.
The report shows trade misinvoicing outflows from Albania averaged at 120 million from 2004 to 2013, the last year for which data are available, to a cumulative of $1.2 billion during the decade.
Meanwhile, illicit hot money outflow measuring illicit financial flows recorded in the balance of payments is estimated at $33 million during the 2004-2013 period.
“This study clearly demonstrates that illicit financial flows are the most damaging economic problem faced by the world’s developing and emerging economies,” said GFI President Raymond Baker, a longtime authority on financial crime.
The “Illicit financial flows from developing countries: 2004-2013″ report recommends that world leaders should focus on curbing opacity in the global financial system, which facilitates these outflows.
