AS per Global Financial Integrity
(GFI), more than USD 400 bn illicitly moved from Hong Kong into China through
the trade misinvoicing route between 2006 and the first quarter of 2013.
The Chinese government has expressed concern that illicit inflows aimed at
circumventing capital controls are fueling currency and housing speculation
in the country. Mr. LeBlanc — utilizing official trade data from the IMF and
the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department — finds that US$101 billion was
illicitly smuggled into China via export over-invoicing in 2012, with an additional
US$54 billion flowing in illegally in just the first quarter of 2013. Total
illicit inflows via trade misinvoicing dating back to 2006 are pegged at a
massive US$400 billion. GFI believes these are the first public estimates of
the amount of illicit money flowing into China from Hong Kong.
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