Flow of illicit money from Central America expands
THE GLOBAL Financial Integrity report reports that between 2004 and 2013 the flows of money from Costa Rica from laundering and other illicit sources increased by 10% compared to the period 2003-2012, but Panama has dropped in the bad list ranking.
The report entitled “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013” shows that during the 10 years in question, the flow of illicit money from Costa Rica exceeded $11 billion. Costa Rica is located at position 15 in the world, surpassed in Latin America in absolute terms only by Mexico ($53 billion) and Brazil ($23 billion). In relation to population or GDP, Costa Rica is a world leader in flows of illicit money.
In Central America, next on the list is Honduras at position 31 ($4.7 billion), then Nicaragua (41, $3 billion), Guatemala (50, $2.2 billion), Panama (52, $2.1 billion) and finally El Salvador (56, $1.7 billion), out of a global ranking of 149 countries. A report in March had Panama sitting in 18th place on the list.
