Zimbabwe is believed to have lost over $2,5 billion in capital flights and trade misinvoicing between 2008 and 2013 due to the country’s controversial empowerment laws, a local think-tank has said.

A latest report by the Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (Zeparu) revealed that unrecorded capital outflows occur through trade with different countries including Canada, China, Germany, Greece, Italy and United States.

Zeparu noted that these countries were used as gateways of capital out of Zimbabwe in the five-year period.