A total amount of $35.6 billion flew out of Turkey illicitly in the past ten years, according to the latest report by a Washington-based advocacy organization which aims to curtail global illicit financial flows

The December 2014 report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) titled “Illicit Financial Flows from the Developing World: 2003-2012,” found that developing and emerging economies lost US$6.6 trillion in illicit financial flows from 2003 through 2012, with illicit outflows increasing at an staggering average rate of 9.4 percent per year—roughly twice as fast as global GDP.

According to the report, Turkey ranked 26th in the list of countries with largest average illicit financial flows with $3.5 billion having flown out of the country on average per year between 2003 and 2012.
China ranked first in the list with $125.2 billion having flown out of the country between 2003 and 2012.

The report found that while $1.9 flew out of Turkey illicitly in 2003, the amount increased to $3.4 in 2007 and to $10.7 billion in 2011.
According to the report’s primary findings, $991.2 billion flowed illicitly out of developing and emerging economies in 2012, the latest year for which data is available. The illegal capital outflows stem from crime, corruption, tax evasion, and other illicit activity.
The report found that “the fraudulent misinvoicing of trade transactions was revealed to be the largest component of illicit financial flows from developing countries, accounting for 77.8 percent of all illicit flows—highlighting that any effort to significantly curtail illicit financial flows must address trade misinvoicing.”

GFI is a non-profit, research and advocacy organization which conducts research on national and multilateral policies, safeguards, and agreements aimed at curtailing illicit financial flows and enhancing global development and security.