Research Reveals Russia Ranks as the Second Worst Nation for Money Laundering

Had your assets frozen? Can we no longer sell those £ 1 m strikers who have been underperforming all season? Are you bobbing in the deep blue looking for a safe place to moor your superyacht? Fear not, Credas Technologies has compiled a brochure of the hottest travel destinations for the international money launderer in 2022.

According to the Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index, there’s no better place to head than Haiti when it comes to this illicit activity. It ranks top of their index. As an island nation with a Caribbean climate, it’s certainly an attractive destination for those currently looking to avoid the seizure of their superyacht.

However, the research by Credas shows that with an estimated GDP of just £77.4m, just £331.9m is laundered in Haiti each year. So for those who want to keep business ahead of pleasure, where’s best to go in these challenging times?

Credas analysed each money laundering hotspot based on the percentage of GDP attributed to domestic money laundering, throughflow activity, and foreign money laundering to reveal which nation’s see the highest amount of total money laundered.

The research shows that just 23% is generated from domestic criminal activity on average for global money laundering. An even smaller proportion (17%) enters a country to be laundered and remains there, with 60% of all illicit funds entering a country to be washed before being removed once they’re clean.

The world’s worst offender? China, where £78.6bn is laundered domestically, £56.1bn arrives from foreign nations, and £202bn is laundered via flow through activity. This totals a huge £336.8bn per year in illegally laundered money, which is by far the highest total of all nations by some margin.

Russia sits second in the list, and Credas estimates that Russian money laundering activity totals £34bn per year. Turkey takes the global money-laundering bronze medal, with an estimated £16.5bn laundered, followed by Thailand (£11.5bn), Philippines (£8.3bn), the UAE (£8.2bn), Malaysia (£7.7bn), Bangladesh (£7.4bn), Pakistan (£6bn) and Ethiopia (£2.5bn).

Tim Barnett, CEO of Credas Technologies, says: ‘The subject of money laundering is a serious business. We’re currently seeing just how serious it can be for those who fall foul of AML sanctions. Billions of pounds in dirty money are washed every year, and unfortunately, the ease of doing so in certain nations has made them a hotspot for flow through and foreign money laundering.’

‘It does beg the question of why it’s taken one of the worst conflicts in recent history to kick start this crackdown and whether or not we should be doing more at the highest level to deter this criminal activity, at least within the borders of the UK.’