Financial Transparency Coalition

Switzerland has made distinct progress in its combat against money laundering. Yet there are still significant gaps. Switzerland was the trailblazer in the fight against money laundering in the 1990s, but it is now following in midfield. Implementation is still at a high level, but when it comes to the non-banking sector and the reporting of suspect cases, the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) still has considerable shortcomings. The standard is higher in the banking sector precisely because the internationally active banks must conform to more than just the Swiss AMLA. The international anti-money laundering standard is laid out...

Tax Research UK published a new report this weekend on the administration of the UK’s Register of Companies by Companies House, the agency responsible for it on behalf of the UK government’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. The report extended the review to look at the administration of corporation tax returns by H M Revenue & Customs, the UK’s tax agency. In combination these are the two main agencies with responsibility for registering and regulating companies in the UK. The Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development funded the study. The UK is an important location...

The report explains illicit capital flight, how it happens, its magnitude and its consequences for development, measures taken so far and measures needed to end it. It also includes a specific chapter on capital flight from Africa and presents illustrative case studies from Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania. These are written by Attiya Waris from Tax Justice Network Africa and by the Budget Working Group of Policy Forum in Tanzania.

Targeting Stock Exchanges is Key in Civil Society's Push for Country-by-Country Reporting, writes François Valérian Today, Transparency International and the Revenue Watch Institute have published the Promoting Revenue Transparency 2011 Report on Oil and Gas Companies. This report evaluates corporate reporting performance on anti-corruption programmes, on subsidiaries and partners, as well as on country-level financial results and technical data. The report shows a concerning reporting gap. Most companies score significantly better in reporting on anti-corruption programmes than in country-level reporting of relevant financial and technical data. This gap further illustrates the major focus of corporate communication, at least for listed...