Financial Transparency Coalition

The G8 have just released an ambitious and comprehensive asset recovery action plan as part of the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition. It is timely and necessary to reinforce the momentum behind stolen asset recovery processes. The first step by G8 countries was to freeze the accounts of the authoritarian leaders Mubarak, Ben Aliand Gaddafi after their fall from power last year, based on the allegation that the assets held had been illicitly acquired from state coffers. However, there has been too little progress made in returning those assets.

WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) today called on leaders of the G8 to concretely tackle the issue of illicit financial flows and end tax haven secrecy when they meet this weekend at Camp David. Illegal capital flight costs the developing world roughly $1 trillion per year, according to GFI research.

LONDON – The G8 has today announced its commitment to introduce new transparency laws that would require oil, gas and mining companies to disclose the payments they make to governments. Such measures would help eradicate the corruption that blights many mineral rich states and lift millions of people in the developing world out of poverty.

BERLIN/DEAUVILLE – Transparency International (TI), the anti-corruption organisation, is calling on the Group of Eight countries to back up its Deauville Summit commitment to aid the fight against corruption in Arab Spring countries with concrete action to ensure recovery of stolen assets, and prevention of their flight in future.