Botswana could be losing billions of Pula annually as money leaves the country unlawfully, the latest report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) has revealed. The authors of the survey, Dev Kar and Joseph Spangers, say the findings underscore the urgency with which policymakers should address illicit financial flows. The survey carried out by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) states that Botswana might have lost approximately US$20 billion About P200 billion between the years 2004 to 2013, through illicit money transfers. The research tracks the amount of illegal capital flowing out of 151 different developing and emerging countries over the 10-year period from 2004 through 2013, and ranks the countries by the volume of illicit outflows. Botswana ranks 66th in the entire world with an average of U.S 1,368mln.
In the year 2004, about $13.7 billion IFFs were recorded in Botswana with about $1.1 billion recorded in 2004 and US$1.2 billion in 2013. On trade misinvoicing outflows, Botswana recorded a cumulative $12.8 billion. The reports states that IFFs (illicit financial flows) mostly originated from corruption, illegal resource exploitation and tax evasion, which include smuggling and transfer mispricing. As a percentage of GDP, Sub-Saharan Africa suffered the biggest loss of illicit capital. Illicit outflows from the region averaged 6.1 percent of GDP annually. Globally, illicit financial outflows averaged 4.0 percent of GDP.
According to the December 2015 report from Global Financial Integrity, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013,” finds that developing and emerging economies lost US$7.8 trillion in illicit financial flows from 2004 through 2013, with illicit outflows increasing at an average rate of 6.5 percent per yearÔÇönearly twice as fast as global GDP. South Africa is the worst source of IFF on the African continent with IFFs mostly originating from corruption, illegal resource exploitation and tax evasion.
