Financial Transparency Coalition

WASHINGTON, DC—As drug violence in Mexico spirals out of control, a new blog post published today on the website of the Task Force on Financial Integrity & Economic Development reveals the Mexican economy is losing over US$50 billion per year in illicit financial outflows. Citing data from GFI’s forthcoming report, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2000-2009, Global Financial Integrity Economist Karly Curcio states that, between 2000 and 2008, total illicit financial outflows from Mexico totaled US$462 billion.

Forthcoming Global Financial Integrity Report Finds Mexican Economy Lost Over US$460 billion between 2000 and 2008 Mexico is struggling with some serious economic and political threats to stability. Drug cartels, corruption, and lower confidence in Mexican markets are eating away at prospects for economic growth. As Mexico teeters closer to a failed state, threats to U.S. national security rise commensurately. Mexican efforts at improving governance are falling short, and billions of dollars in illegal money are flying out of the country each year. In August of 2010, Mexican authorities fired almost 10 percent of the federal police force trying to...

WASHINGTON, DC —“The Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial Flows from India: 1948-2008,” released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI), estimates that tax evasion, crime, and corruption have removed gross illicit assets from India worth US $462 billion. The report also finds that the faster rates of economic growth since economic reform started in 1991 led to a deterioration of income distribution which led to more illicit flows from the country. Moreover, the report finds that the poor state of governance is reflected in a growing underground economy which in turn has fueled more transfers of illicit capital...

Global Financial Integrity Applauds Shareholder Initiative

WASHINGTON, DC--Global Financial Integrity (GFI) applauds Harrington Investments, Inc.’s decision to file shareholder resolutions with Citigroup, Bank of American and JPMorgan Chase, calling for the adoption of a policy position addressing the systemic use of the U.S. financial system to both shelter illicit funds and transfer them internationally. The shareholder resolution follows a difficult year in which we saw Wachovia Bank sanctioned for laundering millions of dollars for South American drug cartels, HSBC agreeing to sanctions from the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency for failure to maintain adequate anti-money laundering programs, and the...