98%+ of money laundering is not tracked, traced and caught? Do these numbers stack up? Just consider these statements:

1. UNODC – the foremost authority internationally and commonly cited in work [http://bit.ly/1iEuaPs]
   1. “Criminals, especially drug traffickers, may have laundered around US$ 1.6 trillion, or 2.7 per cent of global GDP, in 2009, according to a new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
   2. This figure is consistent with the 2 to 5 per cent range previously established by the International Monetary Fund to estimate the scale of money-laundering.
   3. Less than 1 per cent of global illicit financial flows is currently being seized and frozen, says the report.”
2. OECD – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [http://bit.ly/2jQC3tH]
   1. “Fighting international tax evasion is important because it is a  major source of illicit financial flows from developing countries.
   2. Sub-Saharan African countries still mobilise less than 17% of their gross domestic product (GDP) in tax revenues…Progress in OECD countries in repatriation (stolen assets) has been modest, however, with only a limited number of countries having frozen or returned assets.”
3. Global Financial Integrity – Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013 [http://bit.ly/1OX83qc]
   1. “Every year, roughly $1 trillion flows illegally out of developing and emerging economies due to crime, corruption, and tax evasion—
   2. more than these countries receive in foreign direct investment and foreign aid combined….
   3. developing and emerging economies lost US$7.8 trillion in illicit financial flows from 2004 through 2013, with illicit outflows increasing at an average rate of 6.5 percent per year—nearly twice as fast as global GDP.”
4. UK Government – UK national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing [http://bit.ly/1OHWzaN]
   1. “Money laundering can undermine the integrity and stability of our financial markets and institutions. It is a global problem.
   2. The European Commission’s 2013 impact assessment of the EU anti-money laundering/counter terrorist financing legislative framework points to global criminal proceeds potentially amounting to some 3.6% of GDP; around US$2.1 trillion in 2009. The best available international estimate of amounts laundered globally would be equivalent to some 2.7% of global GDP or US$1.6 trillion in 2009.
   3. Both money laundering itself, and the criminality which drives the need to launder money, present a significant risk to the UK.
   4. The laundering of proceeds of overseas corruption into or through the UK fuels political instability in key partner countries.
   5. The NCA judges that billions of pounds of suspected proceeds of corruption are laundered through the UK each year.
   6. Money laundering is also a key enabler of serious and organised crime, the social and economic costs of which are estimated to be £24 billion a year.
   7. Taken as a whole, money laundering represents a significant threat to the UK’s national security. The government’s 2013 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy set out plans to make it harder for criminals to move, hide and use the proceeds of crime.” 
5. UK Government – Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance [http://bit.ly/1YKsDgY]
   1. “This Government has done more than any other to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing.
   2. More assets have been recovered from criminals than ever before, with a record £199m recovered in 2014/15, and hundreds of millions more frozen and put beyond the reach of criminals….
   3. “The UK remains the largest centre for cross-border banking, accounting for 17% of the total global value of international bank lending and 41% of global foreign exchange trading.
   4. The size of the UK’s financial and professional services sector, our open economy, and the attractiveness of the London property market to overseas investors makes the UK unusually exposed to international money laundering risks.
   5. Substantial sums from crimes committed overseas are laundered through the UK.3 There is no definitive measure of the scale of money laundering, but the best available international estimate of amounts laundered globally would be equivalent to some 2.7% of global GDP or US$1.6 trillion in 2009…”