Malawi lost USD 4,691 million between 2001 and 2010 due to illicit financial flows and if policy recommendations are not taken on board, the country could lose even more in the next decade. Currently, Malawi ranks 75th out of 143 countries for largest average illicit financial flow estimates for 2001 to 2010.

Heat Map of Total Illicit Financial Flows 2001-2010 (USD Millions) (Global Financial Integrity, 2012)

The term, “illicit financial flows” refers “to the cross-border movement of money that is illegally earned, transferred, or utilized”, and on average 80% of illicity flows are a result of trade mispricing.

According to Global Financial Integrity’s December 2012 report on illicit flows, USD 5.86 trillion left developing countries in the previous decade. In practice, this means that for every USD 1 developing countries receive in official development assistance, usually from nations that are home to the head quarters of companies engaged in nerfarious…