NEW YORK – Prime Minister Imran Khan says West should do more to treat theplundered money from developing countries in the same way as it treats drugmoney or terror financing.
Addressing High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development on thesidelines of 74th Session of the UNGA in New York, he said illicitfinancial flows devastate the economies of developing counties.
He said people in rich world do not realize the impact it is having oncausing poverty, destruction and lack of human development in thedeveloping world.
The Prime Minister said when his government took power, it inherited a hugedebt and in the previous ten years it was increased by four times due tocorruption of political elite.
He said most of the plundered money was laundered and sent abroad to investin foreign bank accounts, properties in western capitals and offshoreaccounts.
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Imran Khan said we have been trying our best to retrieve the looted moneybut our efforts are hampered by legal lacunas and other issues in thisprocess. He said had that money was spent on education, health and otherfacilities of life for public, the quality of life would have significantlybeen improved in our country.
The Prime Minister regretted that there is a lack of political will in thericher countries to help return the wealth plundered by corrupt politiciansof developing world.
He said it not only deprives a developing country of its vital resources,but it is also not a deterrent against corruption. So, corrupt elite frompoorer countries invests the looted money in advanced world without anyfear of accountability.
