Financial Transparency Coalition

Last summer, we reported that the Obama Administration planned to globally promote the Energy Security Through Transparency (ESTT) provisions (Sec. 1504) of the new Dodd-Frank legislation.  Now, it appears as though they've remained true to their word. Last July, after the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the White House released a statement about Sec. 1504 saying (underlining added by me):

This provision is an essential new tool in promoting transparency in the oil and mineral sectors. This legislation will immediately shed light on billions in payments between multinational corporations...

Ever since the general introduction of the body scanner and enhanced pat-down in airport security lines, there’s been a furious debate in America over just how much privacy we are willing to give up for the sake of our safety in the skies. Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argue that security should not “come at the expense of civil liberties.” Other people just don’t feel comfortable with strangers seeing them virtually naked. Those on the other side argue the loss of privacy is an unfortunate byproduct for the reassurance of safety. In the last...

For years economists have talked about the “end of the euro.” These apocalyptic warnings have become only more severe in recent years and months, with the weakening of Europe’s economic and financial position and the debt crises in Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Ireland, which have triggered discussions of these countries unilaterally dropping the euro. In truth, however, economists have talked about the end of the euro since the beginning of the euro, when even after it was formally adopted as the third pillar of the European Union in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 many economists have remained...

Will Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain see regime change as neighboring Tunisia and Egypt have? Historic unrest and political upheaval are reshaping the landscape and defying the best guesses of external observers as to what will happen in the Arab world next. What is clear is the role corruption and illicit financial practices have played in bringing these countries to the brink of revolution – and in some cases beyond. The magnitude of these illicit practices is staggering—Global Financial Integrity (GFI) estimates that corruption and crime removed a cumulative $49.5 billion from Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen from 2000-2008. Put into context,...