A Fourth of GDP Annually Laundered in Russia

Sep. 16, 2008

Up to 27 percent of Gross Domestic Product is laundered in Russia each year. The laundering extends to legalization of illegally acquired wealth, to the income concealment and embezzlement, RIA Novosti reported with reference to Marat Musin from Russia’s State Commerce and Economic University. Musin made the respective statement in time of the round table held at Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.In 2005 through 2007, Musin said, Russia’s scientists elaborated the methods to unmask grave crimes and more than 438,000 criminal firms that laundered over 9.7 trillion ruble were revealed as a result, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported. What’s more, the applied procedures enabled to spot 519 banks dealing with laundering. Ten of them laundered more than 15 percent of criminal revenues, which equaled 2.6 percent of the GDP. Russia’s nominal GDP totaled 942 billion euro (roughly 35 trillion ruble) in 2007. The amount was around 19.1 trillion ruble in the first half of this year, while the GDP growth reached 8 percent. Economic Development Ministry upgraded the GDP outlook in late July, stepping it up to 7.8 percent for this year. (Kommersant)