UNCTAD estimates annual trafficking of $481m in drug money from Bangladesh

FE ONLINE DESK

Drug trafficking is estimated to have generated an annual average of $481 million in outward illicit financial flows (IFFs) from Bangladesh between 2017 and 2021, according to a report published by UNCTAD.

The report published on Thursday says, “This estimate includes the trafficking in methamphetamine tablets, heroin and synthetic opioids such as buprenorphine and phensidyl.”

The report highlights illegal money flows related to drugs in 9 countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ecuador, Maldives, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal and Peru.

The report shows Mexico ranks first and Bangladesh ranks fifth in drug-related outward illicit financial flows. However, Bangladesh’s position remains in top among the Asian countries estimated in the report.

It said these nine countries have produced the first-ever national estimates of illicit financial flows (IFFs) related to drug trafficking, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants with the support of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The estimates are published on the UN’s Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Indicators Database. And a recent UNCTAD infographic report showcases preliminary estimates and findings on tax and commercial IFFs from 11 African countries.

Significantly reducing IFFs by 2030 is one of the priorities under the UN’s SDG 16. UNCTAD and UNODC are co-custodians of SDG indicator 16.4.1, which measures the total value of inward and outward IFFs in current US dollars.

The two organisations support countries in producing transparent, robust and globally comparable statistics on IFFs.

“Such statistics are needed to shed light on the activities, sectors and channels most prone to illicit financial flows, pointing to where actions should be undertaken as a priority to curb these flows,” said Anu Peltola, who heads UNCTAD’s statistics work.