Four thousand billion dollars smuggled from Algeria to overseas during 2015

The General Manager of the National Customs Administration, Mr Kaddour Bettahar, has announced the customs services’ firm resolve to stymie the illicit flows of money transfers overseas notably by “cleansing” the import-export business in Algeria through a set of stringent measures aimed at better monitoring and regulating this sector of activity so as to protect the national economy.

As a matter of fact, the phenomenon of illegal transfer of funds abroad has been revived since the recent publication of some secret listings of the Swiss bank HSBC. Shortly before the publication of these lists, Algeria was pinned down by the American Organization “Global Financial Integrity” (GFI) which indicated that Algeria has recorded nearly $ 16 billion dollars in illicit financial flows over the past decade.

The reasons are behind these illicit transfers of capital abroad are endless!  There are money laundering, tax evasion, and the search for security. According to official figures, up to 4 billion dollars have been smuggled from Algeria to overseas bank accounts during the year 2015.

One can also consider that the lack of confidence, the restrictions imposed by the control changes, many obstacles, including bureaucracy, corruption, are all counter-productive measures … which make it difficult to invest in the country, lack a market is also contributing to the increasing number of illegal money transfers overseas.

These are, in short, endogenous factors that are the direct or indirect cause of these illegal transfers of capital abroad which are, it must be emphasized, strictly penalized by virtue of the law.

In all cases, remittances abroad are a huge injury to the national economy. Better coordination between the national customs services and those of commercial banks and the central bank, may to some extent limit the damage.

But, in general, repressive measures remain rather ineffective in the fight against the illegal transfer of funds abroad through the various known operations.

What is important is to restore confidence in the State, its institutions, its policies and create opportunities to use funds available in a useful way in the country by creating a healthy climate for business.