Financial Transparency Coalition

In 1998, an article in the Washington Post argued bin Laden was able to “shroud his finances in such secrecy and with so many front companies that American officials acknowledge it could take years to decipher them.” At the time, U.S. officials understood that the key to bin Laden’s power was wealth—which was extensive as he inherited a substantial sum of money from his prosperous Saudi father. Yet they were often stymied in their ability to track his or other terrorists’ resources as they did not have the capability to comprehensively track, freeze, and seize assets. After 9/11...

Monday's Daily News Updates from GFI

Dirty money is beyond Lokpal Tehelka, 6 January 2012 Secrecy in private banking under Western siege The Business Times, January 6, 2012 FinCEN Sees Uptick In Reporting, Annual Report Says Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2012 Spanish Government to Crack Down on Tax Evasion The Latin American Herald Tribune, January 5, 2012 Nick Clegg vows

The New Year is a great time for resolutions. Of course most of these resolutions are made on a personal basis. But resolutions can also be made on a national and international level. So in that spirit, here are five realistic resolutions to help theUnited Statesand the international community achieve more financial transparency in 2012: 1. The U.S. passes the Incorporation Transparency Act. This bill would require companies to disclose the names of the beneficial owners of corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) when formed. This would close a major loophole that criminals exploit to launder their funds within U.S....