Financial Transparency Coalition

Corruption can take many forms. Whether it's a politician funneling state funds into bank accounts in offshore tax havens, or a multinational corporation skirting their tax responsibilities in a developing country, one thing is clear: corruption stifles development and hinders society. Often, lots of these activities are facilitated by a lack of transparency in our financial system. Today is International Anti-Corruption Day, which should serve as a day to remind the world why it's important to speak out against corruption. Feel free to join in the global chorus on Twitter by following the hashtags #breakthechain and #anticorruptionday.

WASHINGTON, DC – As the world observes International Anti-Corruption Day this Sunday, December 9, 2012, Global Financial Integrity highlighted some of the most notable achievements, developments, and short-comings in the fight against corruption over the past year.

Is it a coincidence that the UN’s International Anti-Corruption and Human Rights Days follow on consecutively. (Friday 9 and Sat 10 December)? Possibly not. After all, human rights abuse and corruption are linked. Not least by opaque corporate ownership structures that can prevent legal redress

This year's International Anti-Corruption Day is marred by a U.S. Chamber of Commerce attempt to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), our nation's flagship anti-corruption legislation. Passed in 1977, the FCPA was a response to eroded public trust in government following the Watergate scandal and the admission by Lockheed and some 400 other American companies that bribery to foreign officials was a commonplace practice in international commerce. The U.S. FCPA stood virtually alone on the global stage in the fight against corruption until the late 1990s, when other...