Financial Transparency Coalition

WASHINGTON D.C.—The Financial Transparency Coalition congratulates two members of its Coordinating Committee who were named to the International Tax Review’s “Global Tax 50”, a yearly list of the most influential people and organizations in the tax world. The Brussels-based European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) and the UK’s Tax Justice Network were featured among other influential voices, like the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Pascal Saint-Amans of the OECD, and the International Monetary Fund.

BRUSSELS — In a deal reached last night, parliamentarians and campaigners have succeeded in making company ownership a fundamental topic. While EU nations have agreed to centralized registers of company ownership information, there is still work to be done to ensure full transparency and public access. “The amount of progress made over the last year and a half is encouraging, and the fact that all EU nations agreed to centralized registers is a significant step,” said Koen Roovers of the Financial Transparency Coalition. “But with countries like Denmark, France, the U.K. and Ukraine announcing commitments to public access, the European...

WASHINGTON, DC – A record US$991.2 billion in illicit capital flowed out of developing and emerging economies in 2012—facilitating crime, corruption, and tax evasion—according to the latest study released Tuesday by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advisory organization. The study is the first GFI analysis to include estimates of illicit financial flows for 2012. The report—GFI’s 2014 annual global update on illicit financial flows—pegs cumulative illicit outflows from developing economies at US$6.6 trillion between 2003 and 2012, the latest year for which data is available.  Titled “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2003-2012,” [HTML | Continue Reading

BRISBANE—With the release of the Brisbane communiqué, G20 leaders have acknowledged the cracks in our financial system, yet they haven’t acted on some common sense steps to bolster the fight against illicit financial flows. “It’s good that G20 leaders have been discussing the ravaging effects tax evasion, avoidance and money laundering have on our economies, but they seem to discuss the problem every year. There is a strong and growing consensus across experts, business leaders, and even the accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers on some common sense financial transparency measures,” said Porter McConnell, Manager of the Financial Transparency Coalition....