Crime, Tax Fraud Drained USD 2.5 B from Bulgaria in 2002-2011

Bulgaria ranks 32nd in an international ranking of Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based think tank, evaluating illicit financial outflows.

According to the report, "Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2011,"a total of USD 2.5 B was siphoned off from Bulgaria in the period 2002-2011.

The top two spots in the ranking go to China and Russia, with USD 107 B and USD 88 B, respectively, in illicit financial outflows (IFFs).

In 2011, crime, corruption, and tax evasion drained nearly USD 947 B from developing countries, up by 13.7% from 2010, when IFFs totaled USD 832.4 B.

"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.

Illicit flows from developing countries increased at a trend rate of 10.2% per annum in real terms over the period 2002 and 2011, with faster growth rates before the global economic slowdown than after. The volume of total illicit flows averaged approximately 4% of GDP over the period studied.

The report, GFI's 2013 annual update on the amount of money flowing out of developing economies as a result of crime, corruption and tax evasion, tracks the amount of illegal capital flowing out of 150 different developing countries over the 10-year period from 2002 through 2011, and it ranks the countries by the volume of illicit outflows.