Financial Transparency Coalition

Over the last few months, an aid program (read: bailout) for Cyprus’ banks put together by EU rescuers has met mounting resistance among Europeans. The reason? Money laundering... and the alleged ties of Russian oligarchs to Cyprus’ banks. There does seem to be a questionable relationship there. Last fall, Der Spiegel reported on Germany's Federal Intelligence Service’s (BND) secret report on money laundering in Cyprus. According to Der Spiegel, the report finds that the people who would benefit most from a European bailout of Cyprus banks are Russian oligarchs, mafiosi, and businesspeople who have parked illegal earnings in the small...

As tremors of distrust resonate throughout Russia due to widely-believed allegations of fraud in Sunday’s Parliamentary elections, new research reveals that US$152 billion in illicit money has left the country in the ten years (2001-2010) following Vladimir Putin’s rise to power. The report, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries 2001-2010, was published in December by Global Financial Integrity (GFI). To make matters worse, The Wall Street Journal reports that Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has predicted net capital flight upwards of US$85 billion for this year, further adding to the illicit component of GFI’s estimates.

We're very excited to share with you the newly-available documentary We're Not Broke. Many multinational corporations in the United States pay a 0% tax rate. In a few cases, major brand-name corporations paid a negative tax rate in 2010--meaning they received a check from the IRS, instead of paying in.

Tax evasion poses an acute challenge to developing and developed countries. From 2000 to 2010, illicit financial flows deprived developing countries of US$5.86 trillion. Tax evasion is not a victimless crime – for people in the developing world, the consequences of tax evasion can be a matter of life and death. If developing countries could recover this untaxed wealth, it could mobilise enormous resources for improving their public services and their citizens’ lives.