Financial Transparency Coalition

Yaoundé, Cameroon, sits at the heart of Central Africa. The region is rich with mineral and forestry wealth which has been exploited ruthlessly by colonial powers and powerful corporations for centuries. You need only read the short historical paragraph on Yaoundé's Wikipedia entry to get a sense of this past and present intrusion by external powers. Much of Central Africa's wealth disappears offshore, and constant exploitation has exposed the region to deep rooted political and commercial corruption. This is the context in which tax justice researchers and campaigners...

Central Bank Governors met in Basel, Switzerland earlier this month and proposed tripling the capital reserve requirement to 7 percent. This came shortly after the Financial Stability Board and Basel Committee for Banking Supervision released a joint statement that said that the benefits of implementing stronger capital and liquidity requirements – which increase the safety and soundness of the banking system – would have net, long-term benefits for the global economy. Many banks argue that having to comply with higher capital requirements by holding onto more of their money would hamper economic development and slow...

Cumulative Illicit Financial Flows out of India from 2000-2008 Total Over US$125 Billion

India’s economic boom continues with an average growth rate of over eight percent between 2004 and 2009 by GFI calculations. As the money flows, however, the poor continue to stay poor. Corruption is rampant in India as it is in almost all developing countries. Both corrupt political and corporate officers manage to siphon off funds – intended to aid the people of India – off to political and private sector elite. Recent efforts in India to challenge this corrupt affront on humanity have been met with severe...

In the run-up to the review summit for the UN Millennium Development Goals, Bishop Louis Portella-Mbuyu from Congo-Brazzaville, is leading a church MDG advocacy tour to highlight the disastrous impact of illicit flows on his country and others in the continent. He, and others including Eva Joly MEP, will be speaking about these menaces to society at an event at the European Parliament in Brussels next week. We encourage you to participate: details below +++++++ Transparency and Extractive Industries: How to Recuperate Uncollected African Tax Revenues Bishop Louis Portella-Mbuyu (Congo-Brazzaville) International donors, meeting in New York to review the UN Millennium Development Goals...