Malaysia top 5 developing countries with illegal money flight

Dec 15: Malaysia has been listed at the top five among some 157 developing countries losing billions of dollars to illicit financial outflow. In a study by Washington-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI),  Malaysia is listed among the top 20 countries out of the 157, with a total loss of US$903 billion in illicit financial outflows in 2009. According to the list (see table below), Malaysia lost some US$350 billion in a period of ten years up to 2009, with US$46.8 billion in 2009 alone. GFI said the sharp increase in the illegal money flight was despite the massive slowdown in economic activity which rocked world markets in late 2008. The organisation's annual report “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries over the Decade Ending 2009,” estimates that the developing world lost US$8.44 trillion over the decade ending in 2009 through crime, corruption and tax evasion. “This is a breathtakingly large sum at a time when developing and developed countries alike are struggling to make ends meet,” said GFI Director Raymond Baker. “This report should be a wake-up call to world leaders that more must be done to address these harmful outflows," he added. Following are the top 20 countries suffering the biggest illicit money outflow during the decade ending 2009: Country Amount US$ 1 China 2.74 trillion 2 Mexico 504 bil 3 Russia 501 bil 4 Saudi Arabia 380 bil 5 Malaysia 350 bil 6 UAE 296 bil 7 Kuwait 271 bil 8 Nigeria 182 bil 9 Venezuela 179 bil 10 Qatar 175 bil 11 Poland 162 bil 12 Indonesia 145 bil 13 Philippines 142 bil 14 Kazakhstan 131 bil 15 India 128 bil 16 Chile 97.5 bil 17 Ukraine 95.8 bil 18 Argentina 95.8 bil 19 South Africa 85.5 bil 20 Turkey 79.1 bil