Financial Transparency Coalition

The Swiss Federal Council on Wednesday issued a statement making it all too clear what it thinks “the new global standard for the automatic exchange of information in tax matters” should look like. This concerns the OECD’s ongoing project to create a new framework for international financial transparency, which we’ve written about before: while we found shortcomings, we welcomed the project overall. The OECD is expected to finalise its global standard in June. The Swiss position is a direct threat to global moves on transparency.

If you only read one thing today, this article should be it. Nicholas Shaxson, author of Treasure Islands and member of Task Force member Task Justice Network, published his stirring, mammoth article on the City of London in Vanity Fair today. London is not only a major nexus of global finance, but also one of the central points in the global shadow financial system, where criminals, corrupt public officials, and tax evaders eventually plant their hidden wealth.