Financial Transparency Coalition

Since the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy, the OECD, and European leaders of the G8 have all committed to tackling tax havens, with a mixed record of successful reform. However, leading up to this week's meeting of the G8, David Cameron is calling for the organization's leaders to commit to addressing the global shadow financial system that has allowed illicit financial flows to stream into tax havens.

LONDON - Prime Minister David Cameron revealed today that the UK will be seeking action from the G8 to end the abuse of anonymous shell companies. He has called for information about who ultimately owns and controls companies (beneficial ownership) to be registered and made publicly available.

Phantom Firms are what enabled Teodorin Obiang, the son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, to launder more than $100 million into the USA. This financed a playboy lifestyle of fast cars, a $30 million mansion, a $38.5 million gulfstream jet, and various pieces of Michael Jackson memorabilia, including a diamond-encrusted glove from the Bad Tour. Meanwhile, back home in the oil-rich west African state, more than 1 in 7 children under the age of five were dying from a preventable disease.

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.