Financial Transparency Coalition

LONDON—Taxpayer-funded Lloyds bank may have stashed $9 billion for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, according to Wikileaks cables published in the Guardian today. Lloyds must now confirm if this is true or not and if it is then the bank must publically explain what due diligence checks it has done to ensure that these funds are not the proceeds of corruption, said Global Witness.

This report "A confused economy", highlights the distortions between the real economy and the indicators that guide the G20 and the International Financial Institutions. Investments, trade, savings, production- the report shows how the use of offshore financial centres makes any measurement of these indicators impossible. At the heart of this economic lie, the report points to the important role of multinationals and banks- the top users of tax havens.

WASHINGTON, DC —“The Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial Flows from India: 1948-2008,” released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI), estimates that tax evasion, crime, and corruption have removed gross illicit assets from India worth US $462 billion. The report also finds that the faster rates of economic growth since economic reform started in 1991 led to a deterioration of income distribution which led to more illicit flows from the country. Moreover, the report finds that the poor state of governance is reflected in a growing underground economy which in turn has fueled more transfers of illicit capital...

SEOUL, KOREA – New plans from the G20 to tackle corruption and promote development are welcome commitments, said the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development (Task Force) following the conclusion of the G20 Summit in Seoul today. However, the group warned that key reforms were still missing.