Financial Transparency Coalition

Nicholas Shaxon, author of Treasure Islands and a contributor to the Task Force blog, wrote a fantastic expose of US GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's offshore finances in Vanity Fair.

Cross-posted, with small amendments, from the Treasure Islands blog. A new report from the IMF (hat tip: Markus Henn) tallies surprisingly closely, at least in part, with what members of the Task Force have been saying for some time. Take this, for example, on the role of secrecy jurisdictions (the IMF prefers the term Offshore Financial Centers, or OFCs:)

Before the 2008–09 economic crisis, many banks and hedge funds used OFCs for off-balance-sheet activities such as the so-called special purpose vehicles or structured investment vehicles. These vehicles were typically funded in onshore financial...

Transcendent New Book Links Financial Crisis, Corruption, Crime to Offshore System It links terrorism to the financial crisis, corporate tax evasion to Mexican drug cartels, corrupt kleptocrats in developing countries to the ruling elites in some of the biggest countries in the world. It is the very opaque offshore financial system, and it is the focus of Nicholas Shaxson's enlightening new book, "Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens," which was just published in the United States this week. Reading like a John le Carré thriller, Treasure Islands whisks you from the echelons of...

Contact: Senator Levin’s Office Phone: 202.224.6221 U.S. Senator Carl Levin Introduces Nicholas Shaxson, Author of the New Book “Treasure Islands,” at the National Press Club Full Text, Speech as Prepared for Delivery Good morning. I’d like to thank Nick Shaxson and the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition for inviting me to discuss for a