Money laundering amounts. Estimates
The problem of money laundering amounts has already been discussed previously. This is the continuation of the topic.
When talking about the particular money laundering cases, the estimated amounts laundered are exactly or approximately clear. However, when talking about money laundering on a global scale, laundered funds are harder to estimate. Money laundering is involved in secrecy and has a clandestine nature, and therefore is not easily subjected to statistical analysis. This is why all the estimated figures provided below have huge margin between.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) that recognizes the importance of the problem of money laundering has estimated that the amount of funds laundered in one year all around the world could be between 2% and 5% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).
According to 1996 statistics, provided by IMF Working paper No. 96/55 (may 1996), this is between USD 590 billion and USD 1.5 trillion.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and and Crime (UNODC) provides slightly different figures. In accordance with its estimates, the amounts of money laundered yearly globally have ranged between USD 500 billion and USD 1 trillion.
Taking into consideration the above-mentioned estimates, it is obvious that money laundering is the problem to be paid great attention by each and any country of the world.