Financial Transparency Coalition

Qatar

EXCLUSIVE-Buddy can you spare $1bln? Cable shows Qatar gaffe Reuters, March 22, 2011 Qatar sought $1.0-1.7 bln from oil, other firms – cable; Donations requested for flagship Sidra Medical Center; Companies "shocked and angered" by letters sent in 2008; Payments could be construed as breach of corruption law By Ben Hirschler LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Qatar, one of the world's richest nations, stunned international oil companies in 2008 by asking them for more than $1 billion to help pay for a new medical centre, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable.

I have the following comment on the Guardian site this afternoon: George Osborne said this was a budget to tackle avoidance. How wrong he was. Lawyers and accountants all over the country must be jumping for joy this afternoon – unless they’re in the Channel Islands. Employee benefit trusts – often based in Jersey – are going to be hit hard by this budget, and rightly so. These are last remnants of the age-old pursuit of avoiding PAYE. If they’re consigned to history Osborne’s done at least one thing right. And Osborne gets full marks* for tackling another abuse long overdue to...

U.S. Banks Oppose Tighter Money Rules Wall Street Journal, March 22, 2011

US$6.3 billion transferred out of Egypt in 2010 Al Masry Al Youm, March 21, 2011

Big and Broke? Kyiv Post, March 18, 2011

Transparency International-USA Chief Announces Departure After Tensions Boil Main Justice, March 22, 2011

EU plans new transparency rules for mining groups Financial Times, March 20, 2011

London Tops Financial-Center List Wall Street Journal, March 22, 2011

Ticino firms feel pinch from Italian blacklist World Radio Switzerland, March 22, 2011

Google Questioned by SEC Over Earnings in Low-Tax Countries Bloomberg, March...

On black money trail The Hindu (Business Line), March 19, 2011

IBM Agrees to Pay $10 Million to Settle SEC Bribery Claims Bloomberg, March 18, 2011

Leaked Government Documents Reveal Weakening of U.K. Bribery Act The American Lawyer, March 18, 2011

EU parliament probes MEP corruption claims AFP, March 20, 2011

Governments should name banks that took corrupt money from Gaddafi, Mubarak and Ben Ali Global Witness, March 20, 2011

Financials add CHF 88 bn to Swiss eco PTI, March 18. 2011

Baer calls for end to US/Swiss bank tax...