More than $12 trillion stuffed offshore, from developing countries alone

James S. Henry

From The Guardian:

“More than $12tn has been siphoned out of Russia, China and other emerging economies into the secretive world of offshore finance, new research has revealed, as David Cameron prepares to host world leaders for an anti-corruption summit.
. . .
The analysis, carried out by Columbia University professor James S Henry for the Tax Justice Network, shows that by the end of 2014, $1.3tn of assets from Russia were sitting offshore.“

David Cay Johnston, writing in The Daily Beast in the U.S., adds:

See also Henry writing in Foreign Affairs on this topic.

Cay Johnston goes into detail, and is worth reading. For the raw data behind the numbers, you’ll need to contact Henry directly: he expects to publish some further details soon. We’ll carry updates in the Reports section of our website.

The initial document is here. More data will be uploaded in due course.

Also see this Guardian story: Tax havens have no economic justification, say top economists. This is a letter co-ordinated by Oxfam, which is reproduced in full here. The list of 300 signatories is here.