Financial Transparency Coalition

This spring, reports surfaced that Wal-Mart's Mexico arm may have engaged in widespread bribery in order to rapidly increase its presence in Mexico. Even immediately after the initial New York Times story, the company itself hinted that a thorough investigation may turn up even more.

Felix Salmon responded in a thoughtful post to a variety of news stories yesterday. This paragraph, referring to estimates of the total value of assets located in tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions, caught my eye:

Three separate articles were published by The New York Times this week, connecting the dots of the shadow financial system. All three articles centered in some way around incorporation transparency - knowing who is the real beneficial owner of the corporation that you are doing business with. This issue is one of the five recommendations advocated for by the Task Force, and is at the center of countless world problems.

Nicholas Shaxon, author of Treasure Islands and a contributor to the Task Force blog, wrote a fantastic expose of US GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's offshore finances in Vanity Fair.