Financial Transparency Coalition

Britain’s credibility as a global leader in the fight to end corruption is under real threat.  Its fate lies in the hands of the Governor of a sunny, palm-fringed Caribbean island who was appointed by the UK itself. Last year, as chair of the G8, the UK committed to creating public registries of the real owners of companies. This was a hugely important move by the UK and one we support wholeheartedly. With global support, such a measure could put a stop to some of the worst problems of our time;...

The Civil Society 20 (C20) has released draft position papers ahead of their summit in June, and, once again, they are looking for your input. The global network of civil society organizations solicited public comments in an online conversation earlier this year, and incorporated the feedback into the position papers. These documents will guide the group's campaigning and conversations with policymakers involved in the G20 summit taking place in Brisbane, Australia later this year.

While places like the Cayman Islands, Jersey, and the British Virgin Islands have begun entertaining the idea of public registers of beneficial ownership, today, they might have received the biggest nudge yet to move in that direction. But rather than come from civil society or advocacy groups, this time, the nudge comes all the way from 10 Downing Street.

Every so often in campaigning, you experience a rare breakthrough moment where the project gathers steam and people start to listen in a way they haven’t before. We had one of those moments last summer. My colleagues and I had spent the last five years telling people that anonymous companies facilitate much of the corruption that we campaign to stop. Most people were sympathetic to our cause and surprised by what we told them, but in terms of real, hard change, it’s fair to say our calls fell largely on deaf ears. In 2013, things changed.