Illegal activities move more than US$6,650 million a year to Peru.

According to Capital Humano y Social (CHS) Alternativo, in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation (KAS), the illegal economy moves at least US$6,657 million a year to Peru.

“Initially illegal economy they referred to all economic activities that are prohibited by a state or a group of states (…) We are now talking about economic systems in which, in addition, these prohibited activities are feedback and articulated, and also end up polluting the permitted economic activity,” says Luis Enrique Aguilar Cardoso, lawyer and director of policy and strategy at CHS Alternativo.

There are nine illegal economic activities in the country that represent this large number, the first of which is illegal gold mining.

Illegal gold mining generates about $1,777 million a year in the country. human trafficking ($1.3 billion), drug trafficking ($1.134 million), illegal logging ($800 million), extortion ($530 million), illegal fishing ($300 million), smuggling ($243 million USD), piracy (209 million USD). ), illegal activities related to flora and fauna ($150 million) and land trade ($143 million).

In the case of illegal logging alone, it is estimated that the income for those involved in this business is between $50.7 billion and $152 billion.

On the other hand, in the case smuggling Sunat has estimated economic movement at $596 million in 2021, and the figure could be higher.

Along with this activity also occurs money laundering, a crime that consists of creating the appearance of the legal or lawful origin of assets that are the product of serious crimes.

“Between 2011 and February 2020, movements of $14,263 million were recorded, primarily through illegal mining, followed by corruption and drugs spreading”, says CHS.

The situation is also related to corruption, which, according to the Comptroller General of the Republic, causes an economic loss of SGD 24 million a year.