Financial Transparency Coalition

LONDON - The first official analysis of the “Kabul Bank Crisis” of 2010 reveals an urgent need for reform in the international banking system, said Global Witness today. The “Report of the Public Inquiry into the Kabul Bank Crisis”, published today by Afghanistan’s Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) shows how the perpetrators behind the fraud were able to repeatedly bypass the checks and balances of regulators, donors, auditors and international banks, and steal enough money to incur a bailout costing approximately 6 percent of Afghanistan’s GDP.

LONDON – The Prime Minister’s backing for tax justice throughout the world won a delighted welcome today from Christian Aid, which has a longstanding campaign against multinationals’ tax dodging.

WASHINGTON, DC – Civil society organizations welcomed today's release of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new guidance for businesses on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.S. law that makes it illegal to bribe foreign officials. The FCPA creates a strong and effective mechanism to fight financial fraud and corruption, which impede economic growth and raise the costs of doing business internationally.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition welcomed news that the U.S. Department of the Treasury will be leading a government task force to review the nation’s antiquated anti-money laundering regulations. The FACT Coalition—an alliance of more than 60 prominent anti-corruption, transparency, small business, and global development groups—originally called on the Treasury Department in September 2011 to undertake such a review.