Billions of Dollars Fleeing Iran

More than $70 billion have been transferred to Canada in the past 1.5 years, a media report reads. This bitter piece of news has once again shed light on the issue of capital flight while an economy like Iran’s need to attract investors. Capital flight occurs in two main forms in Iran: one is the lack of investment and the other is the outflow of domestic capital. In Iran, capital flight is synonymous with a higher rate of capital depreciation than productive investment. That’s why Iran’s economic growth has not been favorable over the years, Hadi Haqshenas, an economic expert, said in an article for the Persian daily Ta'adol. A translation of the text follows:
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the country’s economic growth rate has decreased by 2% with crude oil and 0.4% without oil in the first half of the current year [started March 21] compared with the same period of the last year. This is while its economy and business environment should have improved after overcoming the Covid-19 crisis {although the country is not yet completely done with it]. Iran’s economic growth is not at an acceptable level because the country not only fails to absorb investment, it is also losing it. 
Iran’s economy needs to attract tens of billions of dollars. Such a high level of investment is necessary, especially in the oil, gas and petrochemical sector. But sanctions and Iran’s non-compliance with FATF do not promote foreign investments.