Black money: India fifth largest exporter of illicit money

In 2011 alone, India suffered black money outflow of $84.93 billion (nearly Rs. 5 lakh crore), placing it at the third place, says the report titled 'Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2011'.

Crime, corruption and tax evasion drained $946.7 billion (nearly Rs. 57 lakh crore) from the developing world in 2011, up more than 13.7 per cent from 2010, says the report. The findings are part of a study published by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research and advocacy organisation.

"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 its president Raymond Baker.

"Anonymous shell companies, tax haven secrecy, and trade-based money laundering techniques drained nearly a trillion dollars from the world's poorest in 2011, at a time when rich and poor nations alike are struggling to spur economic growth," he said.

The report said six of the top 15 exporters of illicit capital in 2011 are from Asia (China, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines).

"It's extremely troubling to note just how fast illicit flows are growing," said GFI's chief economist Dev Kar.

"Over the past decade, illicit outflows from developing countries increased by 10.2 per cent each year in real terms - significantly outpacing GDP growth.