| As the illicit financial flows of 82 developing countries come under review in a new report, figures have shown that Guyana ranks consistently high in its numbers of illicit financial flows.The report, Illicit Financial Flows and Development Indices: 2008–2012, was released by the Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based organisation. The report takes a look at the illicit financial flows (IFFs) present in 82 countries which were seen as “developing” nations, from the period 2008 to 2012.These countries were distributed by region: 42 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 20 in Asia, eight in the Western Hemisphere, another eight in Developing Europe and four in the Middle East and North Africa.In the report, Guyana was listed in the Western Hemisphere region. Out of the reviewed nations,Cheap Jerseys, Guyana and Haiti were the only regional countries to be analysed.However, while both Caribbean countries managed to come under review, Guyana was the only country of the two to rank in any of the nine categories set out by GFI.According to the report,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the selected developing countries are ranked by comparing IFFs figures to nine different measures. These measures are gross domestic product (GDP), total trade (both exports and imports), population, foreign direct investment (FDI), official development assistance combined with FDI (ODA+FDI), public spending on education,China Jerseys Wholesale, public spending on health,Wholesale Jerseys China, total tax revenues and capital stock. A country with an unusually large amount of IFFs relative to the variable of comparison receives a high rank, the report indicated.Further, these variables were chosen for their direct relationships to economic development.The data presented took a look at the 25 most affected countries in each category. According to information presented, Guyana ranked in the top 25 in six out of the nine categories under review. In two of these categories Guyana ranked in the top 10.The six categories which saw Guyana ranking in the top 25 were the IFFs to GDP (#13 with 17.3%), IFFs to total trade (#22 with 16.4%), IFFs to population (#5), IFFs to ODA+FDI (#20 Guyana at 108.4%),IFFs to public spending on education (#6 at 511.5%) and IFFs to public spending on health (#15 at 264%). Guyana did not rank in the other three categories.According to the GFI, domestic spending on fundamental social needs, such as education and health,Stitched Jerseys, are often overwhelmed by the amount of illicit money flowing out of the economy. The report indicated that with this illicit money domestic resources could be mobilized to address basic human needs.About 40% of the 82 countries reviewed had illicit outflows that exceeded spending on education. A similar percentage had IFFs that surpassed health expenditures. Guyana is one.Furthermore, countries with high ranks in the ratios comparing to public spending on education and/or health are possibly those that could most benefit from curbing illicit outflows and applying the resulting increase in taxation receipts to these sectors of the public budget.The GFI also noted that in countries where inequality and poverty levels are high, the outflows of illicit finances are also high; when illicit flows are high, a country’s development score tends to be low, the report showed.Interestingly, the report noted a contrary relationship between the efficiency of customs department and IFFs; in this case, where efficiency is high, illicit flows are low.“This indicates that good governance (i.e. low corruption) in customs departments may be a way to curtail illicit outflows,” GFI’s Managing Director Tom Cardamone noted in a release on the report.Additionally, findings revealed a “robust relationship” between high tariff rates and high levels of IFFs. “One reason for this may be that high tariffs could spur importers and exporters to resort to trade fraud to avoid the tariff,” GFI noted in the report. GFI also found that that 40% of the countries examined had illicit flows that were at least 10 percent of the country’s total trade value.“This finding may be a reflection of the fact that, over the last 10 years, approximately 80 percent of all illicit outflows use trade misinvoicing (i.e. trade fraud) as the method to move funds offshore,” the report stated.The GFI also made a number of recommendations in handling IFFs. One of these recommendations was concerted action by the international community in assisting not only nations with high levels of IFFs but also those that have huge percentages of their economic foundation eroded by the phenomenon.Further, GFI recommended that all countries should, at a minimum,Wholesale Jerseys From China, take steps needed to comply with all of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.“Regulators and law enforcement officials should strongly enforce all of the anti-money laundering laws and regulations that are already on the books, including through criminal charges and penalties for individuals employed by financial institutions who are culpable for allowing money laundering to occur,” GFI suggested.For the report, four different sets of developing countries were combined to create a unified list of developing countries in particularly difficult development situations, GFI said. These country groups are heavily indebted poor countries, low-income developing countries, least developed countries, and lower-middle-income economies.According to GFI, the groups were chosen to highlight those countries most in need of development financing and/or domestic resource mobilization. |
