Financial Transparency Coalition

London, October 31, 2013 - David Cameron is expected to become the first leader of any country to commit to introducing a public register to reveal the true beneficial owner of companies. The Financial Transparency Coalition (FTC) strongly welcomes this move, as we have been calling on world leaders to put these public registries in place since our founding in 2009. We believe public registers of beneficial ownership will go a long way towards reducing corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.

WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) welcomed the introduction late Wednesday night in the U.S. House of Representatives of two pieces of legislation aimed at stemming the flow of trillions of dollars in dirty money through the U.S. financial system. The Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization noted that the two bills would bring the United States in line with certain international anti-money laundering (AML) standards, target individuals responsible for laundering money, and bring an end to the abuse of anonymous U.S. shell companies.

WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) lauded the European Parliament today for adopting new transparency rules for all EU listed extractive industries companies as well as all large, privately held extractive industries companies incorporated in the EU. Announced informally by European leaders in April, the rules were officially adopted by the Parliament Wednesday in what GFI referred to as a major victory for anti-corruption proponents. Also on Wednesday, the Canadian government announced that it intended to move forward to enact similar rules, a move lauded by GFI, a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization.

The Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development is today renamed the Financial Transparency Coalition (FTC). Formed in early 2009 with the goal of creating greater transparency and accountability in the global financial system in order to curb illicit financial flows (IFFs), the coalition is composed of six coordinating NGOs - Christian Aid, Eurodad, Global Financial Integrity, Global Witness, Tax Justice Network and Transparency International - as well as leading experts and a rapidly growing number of government representatives (on May 22 Belgium became the thirteenth country to join the FTC’s partnership panel).