OREANDA-NEWS The volume of shadow economy in Russia is declining: in 2018 it is equal to about 20% of GDP compared to 28% in 2015-2016, follows from the annual assessment of RosFinMonitoring (financial intelligence), which the Agency sends to the Interior Ministry.

The assessment provided in the draft document of the Federal service for financial monitoring with analysis of the level of Russia's compliance with the FATF recommendations (international group of financial action against money laundering). Its authenticity was confirmed by a source in the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring.

In 2016, the volume of the shadow economy amounted to 28.3% of GDP, or 24.3 trillion rubles.

In 2017, the volume of the shadow economy, according to RosFinMonitoring, decreased by almost 8 points to 20.5% of GDP (18.9 trillion rubles).

According to preliminary estimates, in 2018, the shadow economy amounted to about 20% of GDP.

The shadow economy in Russia, according to the Federal financial monitoring service, is more than 20 trillion rubles, it is more than the cost of just the Federal budget for the year 2019 (18 trillion), three times more than the annual revenue of Gazprom (RUB 6.5 trillion in 2017), over one third of all monetary incomes of Russians in 2018 (57,5 trillion).

Perhaps the sharp decline in the shadow economy in 2017 is due not only to a real reduction in hidden and illegal activity, but also to a change in the methodology of RosFinMonitoring (some part of the shadow economy has ceased to be considered such). At the same time, RosFinMonitoring itself notes that in recent years, the volume of suspicious funds withdrawn abroad "significantly decreased", "significantly reduced" and the receipt of shadow financial flows from abroad.

In addition, the Federal financial monitoring service notes that illegal economic agents are actively using fictitious foreign economic activity for the withdrawal of criminal proceeds abroad. "Funds are withdrawn abroad according to organized complex schemes, using for stratification and transit of financial flows many accounts of one-day firms opened in various banks. Transfers abroad are mainly carried out under the guise of foreign trade transactions for the supply of goods or the purchase and sale of securities," the special service writes.