Financial Transparency Coalition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 20 DECEMBER 2016 In latest position on AMLD revisions, Council aims to keep ‘legitimate interest’ barrier intact, delay implementation by up to three years Despite being just nine months removed from the Panama Papers, some European Union member states are already trying to back out of commitments made to create fully public

Member states reluctant to end secretive ownership It was just nine months ago that countless business leaders, politicians and celebrities found themselves answering awkward questions about why their names appeared in leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca, a company known for setting up offshore business structures. The leaks, which became known as the Panama Papers, gave

PRESS RELEASE Amid ongoing Panama Papers fallout, Commission recommends that company beneficial ownership registers be available to general public As most vocal opponent of increased transparency of trusts votes to leave EU, Commission clamps down on hidden ownership of trusts, but stops short of what’s needed BRUSSELS—Today, the European Commission took a much needed step

This week, European Union finance ministers agreed to establish a common EU blacklist of so-called “non-cooperative jurisdictions” – in other words, tax havens. With one tax scandal unfolding after the other, listing and sanctioning tax havens may seem like a good solution. However, as tempting as it may sound, this EU exercise is doomed to fail –