India world No. 4 in black money outflow over 10 years

With a total $439.59 billion (Rs 28 lakh crore), India has jumped one rank to become the fourth-largest exporter of illicit outflows over a 10-year period from 2003-2012.

With a total $439.59 billion (Rs 28 lakh crore), India has jumped one rank to become the fourth-largest exporter of illicit outflows over a 10-year period from 2003-2012, Washington-based research and advisory organisation, Global Financial Integrity (GFI), said in its latest report. China tops the list with $1,252 billion, followed by Russia ($973 billion) and Mexico ($514 billion).

India has salted away an average $43.96 billion per year as illicit outflows over the 10-year period.

In 2012 alone — the latest year for which GFI estimates have been made — India exported $94.76 billion of illegal wealth and ranked third after Russia ($122.86 billion) and China ($249.57 billion).

In fact, the amount of black money going out to foreign countries is now larger than the amount being remitted to the country by expatriate Indians. According to the latest World Bank report, India is expected to receive $71 billion in remittances in 2014 from $16.39 billion in 2013.

The Supreme Court has appointed a special investigation team (SIT) to bring back black money into the country from tax havens. India needs to trace Rs 4,479 crore in the accounts of Indians figuring in a list of account holders of HSBC’s Geneva branch, according to government data. The SIT has also traced unaccounted wealth of Rs 14,958 crore within India, which are currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department.

Illicit fund outflows from India alone accounted for nearly 10% of a record $991.2 billion worth of illegal capital that moved out of all developing and emerging nations in 2012, the report said.