(MENAFN) A recent report issued by Washington-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI) said that over USD400 billion of illicit cash originated from the GCC region between 2001 and 2010, Arabian Business reported.
According to GFI's report, USD210 billion flowed out of Saudi Arabia alone, more than half a total value of USD413.9 billion, followed by the UAE at USD107 billion, Qatar at USD56.1 billion, Kuwait at USD24.2 billion, Bahrain at USD9.7 billion and Oman at USD741 million.
The report estimates illicit financial flows from developing countries to inlcude cash lost to money laundering, organised crime, corruption and tax evasion.
The study does not include illicit financial flows derived from drug trafficking, human smuggling and other primarily cash-based criminal activities.
GFI Director Raymond Baker said "Regardless of the methodology, it's clear: developing economies are haemorrhaging more and more money at a time when rich and poor nations alike are struggling to spur economic growth.
"This report should be a wake-up call to world leaders that more must be done to address these harmful outflows", he added.
On a global basis, the report put China on top of the list over the ten-year period, with USD27.4 trillion of dirty money exiting the country into Western banks and tax havens, followed by Mexico with USD476 billion and Malaysia with USD285 billion.
Furthermore, the report said that the developing world lost a total of USD5.86 trillion to illicit financial activities over the period.
The amount of cash lost to laundering, crime and tax evasion increased 11 percent between 2009 and 2010, the report found.
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