Rabat - Morocco ranked 34th out of 149 countries in the global level in a list of countries with the largest average of illicit financial flows, according to the think tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI).
Produced by the U.S.-based think tank, the report issued on Monday ranks Morocco in 34th place with a whopping $4.1 billion smuggled out of the country per year between 2004 and 2013.
The report noted that at least $41 billion went out of Morocco during the decade-long period.
The largest amount of money smuggled out of Morocco in a single year was in both 2005 and 2008, when $5.5 million left the country, according to the report
In the MENA region, several countries are higher on the list than Morocco, including Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Qatar.
Topping the list of countries with illicit flows from 2003 to 2014 is China, with an average of $139 billion smuggled annually in that period.
It is followed by Russia ($104 billion per year) and Mexico ($52.8 billion per year).
The report noted that illicit financial flows first surpassed $1 trillion in 2011 and grew to $1.1 trillion in 2013, marking a dramatic increase from 2004 ($465.3 billion).
“This study clearly demonstrates that illicit financial flows are the most damaging economic problem faced by the world's developing and emerging economies," said GFI President Raymond Baker, a longtime authority on financial crime.
Edited by Timothy Filla
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