NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's financing arm, the Government Development Bank (GDB), said on Wednesday that it had filed papers asking a court to order the U.S. territory's Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM) to deposit transfers of property tax collections at the bank.

CRIM's board suspended all deposits of property tax collections at the GDB as of June 30, according to a statement from the GDB's chief operating officer, Karolee Garcia Figueroa. The GDB said that CRIM had admitted to withholding approximately $400 million in revenues that should have been deposited at the GDB.

The papers were filed with the court of first instance, San Juan Superior Court, the GDB said.

It was not possible to leave a message with CRIM outside business hours.

Puerto Rico, in recession for nearly a decade, has seen its debt grow to $72 billion, while the number of taxpayers shouldering the burden has dwindled, with thousands moving to the U.S. mainland each year.

Puerto Rico's Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla shocked investors in June when he said the Caribbean island's debt was unpayable and required restructuring. Puerto Rico in August skipped most of the payment on a bond.

(Reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)