The Shadowy World of Remittances: Chaos, Conflict, & Cash

Between 1990 and 2023, the US and Europe have facilitated a massive wealth transfer operation with total official outflows amounting to almost $4 Trillion USD. This wealth transfer mechanism is different than the 10 Trillion dollar trade deficit mechanism, and it is in addition to the 4 or so Trillion dollars that was transferred via Foreign Direct Investment; this mechanism—the topic of this video—goes by the name of ‘remittances.’ When migrants make or otherwise receive money in a host country, they send a portion of this money back home in the form of remittances. On the surface, this may seem all fine and dandy—migrants from economic or conflict-ridden disaster zones may seek opportunities in the wealthy West, boosting the GDP of the Western nation, while sending money back home and allegedly aiding in the development of their home countries. But, if we pull back the curtain on this shadowy section of the global financial plumbing, we may find that all is not as it seems in this world defined by chaos, conflict, and cash.