International Report: Corruption Costs Egypt $6 bn Annually

International Report: Corruption Costs Egypt $6 bn Annually

Crime and corruption cost Egypt approximately $6 billion per year and a total of $57.2 billion from 2000 to 2008, according to a report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI).

Much of this money, the Washington-based-watch-dog group notes, was driven out by personal tax evasion, in addition to corruption and crime. The recent report also noted that the Middle East and North Africa region, including Egypt, has the highest rate of growth for illicit financial outflows (IFFs).

 

"What is happening in Egypt is the result of a systemic condition of which Mubarak was just one part," said report author, Dev Kar. "Weak governance allowed rampant bribery, theft, crime, and tax evasion to drive billions of dollars out of the country every year."

 

"The annual loss of money, which seriously hampered the government’s ability to stimulate economic development and alleviate poverty, made ex-president (Hosni) Mubarak’s dictatorial regime unbearable and brought Egypt to its current state of social and political unrest," he said.

 Egypt ranks third among all African countries for the largest exporter of illicit capital with cumulative outflows from 2000-2008 at $57.2 billion and US $6.4 billion per year.

 

The report comes as Egypt witnesses political turmoil, following intense protests seeking the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The protests, which began Jan 25, quickly spread across the country.