Financial Transparency Coalition

Indians have $2.5 billion in Swiss Banks: Report Economic Times, July 25, 2011 U.S. trucking funds reach Taliban, military-led investigation concludes Washington Post, July 24, 2011 Canada’s anti-bribery cops reel one in Business Law Currents, July 25, 2011 Credit Suisse unlikely to get help over U.S. tax probe Reuters, July 24, 2011 Of Loopholes and

Assistant Administrator Eric Postel of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supporting Section 1504, or the Cardin-Lugar provision, of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. The "Publish What You Pay" provision, which has been significantly delayed, requires energy and mining companies registered with the SEC to report payments to foreign governments for the extraction of oil, gas, and minerals on a country-by-country basis.  Commenting on the positive effects of country-by-country reporting, Postel writes:

“Our overarching belief is that the enforcement of the proposed rules contributes towards U.S. Government...

Big step forward for the World Bank today. After an arguably rocky history with the topic of illicit financial flows, one which is full of fits and starts, the World Bank has taken a large stride into the foray with a new, 196-page report: Barriers to Asset Recovery. The study explicitly concerns reforms that will “enable the recovery of stolen assets” as the result of corruption. It is a topic which has been given a fair amount of attention lately, particularly in the wake of the Arab Spring. Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Muammar Qaddafi...

Tom Cardamone, Managing Director at Global Financial Integrity, continues his biweekly op-ed series with TrustLaw.  In today's column, he announced a forthcoming petition calling on legislators to help defend the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans the bribery of foreign public officials. Explaining the purpose of the petition, Mr. Cardamone writes:

"The petition, which is expected to be released in the next few days, is targeted at Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, who has said he will craft a bill that brings the law 'up to date.'  Sensenbrenner chairs a subcommittee of the powerful House Judiciary Committee which convened a...