Bangladesh loses $68bn to illicit trade flows from 2013 to 2022

Bangladesh lost an estimated $68.3 billion due to trade-related illicit financial flows between 2013 and 2022, according to a report released by Global Financial Integrity on 26 March. The report highlights trade misinvoicing—where importers and exporters deliberately falsify the value or quantity of goods—as a key method used to evade taxes, shift profits, and move money abroad.

The findings place Bangladesh among the top 10 countries in developing Asia in terms of total trade value gaps. A significant portion of these illicit flows, around $33 billion, is linked to trade with advanced economies such as the United States and European countries, indicating strong ties to global supply chains rather than just regional trade.

Compared to its South Asian peers, Bangladesh’s losses are considerable, though still much lower than India’s, which recorded over $1.06 trillion in illicit trade flows during the same period. Sri Lanka reported about $24 billion in trade gaps with advanced economies, though its smaller economy makes the impact more severe.

Across developing Asia, illicit trade-related financial flows reached an estimated $1.69 trillion in 2022 alone. The report notes that major economies like China, Thailand, and India account for a large share, but the issue persists across countries of all sizes, with no clear sign of decline over the past decade.