13
trillion pounds in offshore tax havens:
A new report by tax researchers estimates the amount
of money deposited by a 'global super-rich elite' in offshore accounts is trillion
of pounds - equivalent of the combined GDP of the US and Japan.
In an appendix, the report says that "(it) first became evident in the late 1980s that a vast amount of capital was pouring out of the developing world". The report suggests that for many developing countries the cumulative value of the capital that has flowed out of their economies since the 1970s would be more than enough to pay off their debts to the rest of the world.
In the report, James Henry, former chief economist at
consultancy McKinsey and an expert on tax havens, shows that at least 13
trillion pounds - perhaps up to 20 trillion pounds - has leaked out of scores
of countries into secretive jurisdictions such as Switzerland and the Cayman Islands
with the help of private banks.
