Financial Transparency Coalition

I’ve noted before that sanctions, while certainly well-intentioned, are often meaningless in practice. In large part, this occurs because of many of the opacity issues in the international financial system. As a result of these flaws, whether intentionally or not, sanctions are often (although not always) purely symbolic. So in the case of Russia, which is now on the receiving end of the so-called “toughest sanctions since the Cold War,” are financial sanctions symbolic or substantive? Given the current dynamics in Russia and abroad, are they likely to work? If you’ve been reading the news at all,...

While President Vladimir Putin’s name didn’t make the first round of sanctions issued against Russian officials yesterday, the Obama administration said that his addition might not be far off, according to a recent article in the Associated Press. How this will affect Russian actions in Ukraine remains to be seen, but with President Putin in

This post originally appeared on the blog of Tax Justice Network, a Coordinating Committee member of the Financial Transparency Coalition.  If there’s one story you read today make it this one, from Politico Magazine. It’s triggered by the crisis in Ukraine, but it’s been a long time coming. The point of this short story is clear:

For the first time, the Task Force Regional Representatives delivered specific recommendations to the BRICS governments, which met in South Africa this week. The BRICS countries hold a unique position among developing countries and emerging markets: they suffer from the same persistent problems relating to international taxation, transfer pricing, exchange of information, and tax evasion and avoidance that affect the rest of the developing world, but unlike many developing countries, hold significant power and influence at the international institutions and fora. All five BRICS are members of the G20, and Russia holds the Presidency this year.