Malaysia bled RM174 billion dirty money in 2011, says global anti-graft watchdog
(TMI) – About RM173.84 billion was illegally siphoned out of Malaysia in 2011, making the country the fourth largest exporter of illicit capital that year after Russia, China and India, said anti-graft watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI).
The Washington-based research and advocacy organisation said crime, corruption, and tax evasion drained $946.7 billion (RM3.05 trillion) from the developing world in 2011, up more than 13.7% from 2010 – when illicit financial outflows totalled $832.4 billion (RM2.64 trillion).
“As the world economy sputters along in the wake of the global financial crisis, the illicit underworld is thriving… siphoning more and more money from developing countries each year,” said GFI president Raymond Baker when releasing the “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2011” report.
The findings in the study peg cumulative illicit financial outflows from developing countries at $5.9 trillion (RM19 trillion) between 2002 and 2011.
“Anonymous shell companies, tax haven secrecy, and trade-based money laundering techniques drained nearly a trillion dollars from the world’s poorest in 2011, at a time when rich and poor nations alike are struggling to spur economic growth.
