Financial Transparency Coalition

The SEC announced that it will vote on key transparency rules from Dodd-Frank Section 1504 in August.

Hopes of democratic improvements and economic stability in Burma are being threatened by American oil companies who are quickly rushing in to capitalize on Burma's newly-open market. With the agreement of Thein Sein, the president of Burma, the U.S. has recently guided Burma towards a more open society in hopes of leading to sustainable economic and governmental structures -- all foreign components to the unstable Burmese nation. Burma also happens to be resource rich. This has brought about the inevitable swarm of U.S. resource companies to Burma’s doorstep, all hoping to stake their claim on the reserves. ...

After nearly two years of postponement, Congress has called for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to immediately enact the transparency rules of the July 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. These provisions include Section 1504, which requires energy companies to publish transactions to governments; thus, the threat of illicit flows from extractive industries will be minimized.

WASHINGTON, DC - Global Witness applauds the bipartisan call by 58 Members of Congress for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to immediately release the final rules for two sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) aimed at decreasing corruption and conflict relating to the extractive industries. The law, passed in July 2010, required the SEC to issue final rules for these provisions in April 2011. Fourteen months after missing this deadline, the SEC is refusing to name a date for their publication.