Financial Transparency Coalition

Sudan has been embroiled in two civil wars for most of the 55 years it has existed as an independent state. In the 1980s and 1990s Sudan witnessed four million displacements and two million deaths as a direct result of this conflict. Islamic-oriented military regimes have ruled Sudan since independence, which is large part attributable to the religious demographics. Of Sudan’s sizeable population of over 44 million inhabitants, seventy percent identifies as Sunni Muslim, twenty-five with indigenous beliefs, and five percent as Christian. Muslims are concentrated in Northern Sudan, while Christians mostly occupy the South. This...

LONDON—Taxpayer-funded Lloyds bank may have stashed $9 billion for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, according to Wikileaks cables published in the Guardian today. Lloyds must now confirm if this is true or not and if it is then the bank must publically explain what due diligence checks it has done to ensure that these funds are not the proceeds of corruption, said Global Witness.

Yesterday, it was announced that Barclays PLC would pay the U.S. Government $298 million to settle a case charging the British bank with blatantly disregarding U.S. sanctions against countries such as Burma, Cuba, Iran, Libya, and Sudan. In doing so, the bank both accepted and acknowledged the charges made against it, and—according to the The Wall Street Journal—took full "responsibility for its conduct and that of its employees." The details of the case are fairly disturbing, highlighting a culture of complete disregard for U.S. regulations. The Journal reports:

U.S. officials said the bank altered payment messages or...