Crime is one of world's top 20 economies: UN official

Globally, crime generates approximately 2.1 trillion dollars annually, which is about 3.6 percent of world’s gross domestic product, Yury Fedotov, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said at a news conference. u00a0

u00a0

The data is based on figures calculated data for 2009, The Telegraph reports.

u00a0

During the opening day of the week-long meeting of the International Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), Fedotov described the criminal business as a threat to global security and economic development.

u00a0

He said that up to 40 billion dollars is lost due to corruption in developing countries annually.

u00a0

He added that illegal income from human trafficking amounted to 32 billion dollars every year.

u00a0

He also cited a range of other crimes such as illegal trafficking, violence, corruption and organized crime yielding big money, adding that they were also major impediments to the Millennium Development Goals.

u00a0

Criminal groups have shown ''impressive adaptability'' to law enforcement actions and to new profit opportunities, a senior US official said during the meeting.

u00a0

Today, criminal organizations had no resemblance to the hierarchical crime family and instead consisted of loose and informal networks that often converged when it was convenient and engaged in various criminal activities, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Brian Nichols, US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, added.

u00a0

He said terrorist groups in some cases were turning to crime to help fund their operations.

u00a0

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!