Financial Transparency Coalition

Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo Xilai, a rising star in the Chinese Communist Party, has been arrested by Chinese police on suspicion of ordering or arranging the murder of Neil Heywood. Heywood was poisoned this past November. Until now no clear motive for the crime had surfaced.

At the Center for Global Development / Washington Post forum yesterday, Nigerian Finance Minister and nominee for the World Bank Presidency Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala answered a series of questions about the World Bank, and the challenges it faces moving into the future. The whole interview is available on video here.

WASHINGTON, DC – The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Initiative (IBAHRI) today announced the formation of a international task force charged with investigating the linkages between illicit financial flows, poverty and human rights violations. Chaired by Global Financial Integrity Advisory Board member and Yale University Professor Thomas Pogge, the task force consists of prominent academics, tax experts, and lawyers from around the world.

Task Force Director Raymond Baker spoke to MBA students at Georgia Tech (his alma mater) earlier this month, as part of their IMPACT speaker series. Previous speakers have included such prestigious names as Warren Buffett and Vice President Al Gore. He begins by explaining how illicit financial flows hurt the developing world, as well as the scope and scale of the problem. Raymond then asks the future business leaders in the audience to think about global inequality and their role in the world. He contrasts the humanizing philosophy of Adam Smith with the hard utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham.