Financial Transparency Coalition

When it comes to policy change, what should come first: financial regulation or corporate responsibility? I have argued for corporate responsibility—morality, in fact—before. My conclusion was that corporations, like people, do have the duty to act morally. I argued that there is such a thing as moral behavior when it comes to business and when we, as consumers, should reflect our own brands of morality in our purchasing decisions. The same thing should be true of investing. And when it comes to these funds, some firms have already led the way with “socially responsible” investment firms. Members...

WASHINGTON, DC —“The Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial Flows from India: 1948-2008,” released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI), estimates that tax evasion, crime, and corruption have removed gross illicit assets from India worth US $462 billion. The report also finds that the faster rates of economic growth since economic reform started in 1991 led to a deterioration of income distribution which led to more illicit flows from the country. Moreover, the report finds that the poor state of governance is reflected in a growing underground economy which in turn has fueled more transfers of illicit capital...

Lord of War, a 2005 film starring Nicolas Cage, tells the story of Yuri Orlov, a man born in Soviet Ukraine, but raised in America, who sells illicit weapons to terrorist groups, corrupt African leaders, and criminal organizations. He describes himself as an “equal opportunity merchant of death,” selling to whoever and whatever side that is willing to pay. Orlov becomes tangled up with several criminal men, including a Colombian drug lord who insists on paying him in cocaine and a West African Dictator, who compensates Orlov with blood diamonds. Through a voice-over, Orlov describes one method he...

Eurodad and the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development invite you to the conference “Fighting illicit flows from developing countries – what next for the EU agenda?” in Brussels on December 7^th and 8^th 2010. In the past few months, G20 leaders have expressed concern about the financial integrity of secrecy jurisdictions and the need to regulate them. In November 2009, they committed to ensuring that developing countries fully benefit from international measures to establish a more transparent and cooperative framework. In June 2010, EU Heads of State...