Financial Transparency Coalition

The UK has initialed an agreement with Switzerland which we recently wrote up on the Task Force blog. In short, UK tax evaders using banks in Switzerland will have to start paying some tax - but the UK will allow those (criminal) tax evaders to avoid penalties and retain their anonymity. The UK will have to trust that Switzerland will keep its part of the bargain, even though it will be impossible to conduct any comprehensive checks. There are reasonable fears that this model may spread widely to other countries. We at TJN think this is a thoroughly rotten and...

J.P. Morgan Chase Pays $88.3 Million To Settle Sanctions Violations Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2011 Keeping Petrodollars Out of Despot’s Pockets Bloomberg Business Week, August 25, 2011 Libya Rebels Investigate Corruption At Sovereign Fund Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2011 RBA admits it knew of bribe claims Sydney Morning Herald, August 27, 2011 Why

As Libya prepares for the future, what are financial centres doing to stop the flow of stolen assets from dictators? The following is adapted from a speechmade by Transparency International’s vice-chair, Akere Muna, at the UN public service forum in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. If corruption, especially money laundering and bribery are to be tackled, we need to see action not only from developing countries, but also countries that are home to major financial centres. Here in Africa there is wide recognition that poor governance is one of the biggest barriers to sustainable development, what is missing is recognition...

Since 1968, India has been trying to create a lokpal, an independent ombudsman body that would investigate claims of corruption against politicians and bureaucrats without government approval. The idea is that the body would have the government’s power of legitimacy, but enough independence that it would be able to hold corrupt officials accountable. In 1968 India's lower house passed a bill that would create the lokpal, aptly named the lokpal bill, but it did not reach the upper house. India’s government tried again, and again, and again. Between 1971 and 2008 India’s parliament introduced ten versions of the lokpal...