Financial Transparency Coalition

This week, almost 50 Africa heads of state are in Washington to meet with President Obama for the largest summit ever between the US and Africa governments. But civil society leaders often are the ones holding their governments accountable, so it's imperative that they are involved in the process, as well. On Monday, the State Department hosted a forum for civil society organizations that featured Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden.

WASHINGTON, DC – As African leaders descend on Washington this week for the historic U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) called on the Obama Administration and Heads of State from across the continent to prioritize efforts to curtail illicit financial flows from Africa, which GFI estimates cost the continent roughly US$55.6 billion per year over the past decade. “Illicit financial outflows are by far the most damaging economic problem facing Africa,” said GFI President Raymond Baker, who sits on the UN High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa.  “In 2011 alone, US$76.9 billion flowed illegally out of Africa. ...

Last November, a former special agent for the Treasury Department, John Cassara, wrote an op-ed for the New York Times with the headline “Delaware, Den of Thieves?” Cassara described how the state of Delaware (along with Wyoming and Nevada) has become “nearly synonymous with underground financing, tax evasion and other bad deeds facilitated by anonymous shell companies”. He told of his frustration as a law enforcement officer trying to get information out of Delaware about the real owners and controllers of companies registered in the state. This week, a debate has started in Delaware about...

A new report out from the McKinsey Global Institute claims that Nigeria could be the next hotspot for economic growth and development. The firm says that, by 2030, the west African nation could become one of the world's leading economies. And it's true; Nigeria has seen an economic surge in recent years, thanks to massive oil exploitation, a burgeoning financial sector, and a huge population. In April, Nigeria even leapfrogged South Africa on its way to becoming Africa's biggest economy. But even with annual GDP growth at 7%, millions of Nigerians suffer...