Financial Transparency Coalition

During the last century there have been many successes in women’s’ rights movements, but there remains a lot of work to be done in accomplishing gender equality. In the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn retell an experience had by Bill Gates during a speaking engagement in Saudi Arabia.

The World Bank Group’s new policy on offshore financial centers will aim to improve the effectiveness of its private sector arm by helping countries tackle tax evasion but effective rules must be made for partner companies. As part of the World Bank Group, The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has a mission to promote development. The IFC uses public aid money, to fund private companies’ operations in poor countries, which should generate growth and increased government revenues. But reports by IBIS and Eurodad found these companies using tax havens, taking revenue from those countries that they are meant to benefit.

In a study conducted between November 2010 and February 2011 on ill-gotten money and the economy, the Financial Integrity team looked at the experiences of Malawi and Namibia. We approached the project with an open mind and without any assumptions, finding that for Malawi, corruption and tax evasion as a percentage of GDP represent a significant drag on economic development.

WASHINGTON, DC – The past twenty-four hours has seen the publication of two reports and the disclosure of an asset forfeiture complaint which, collectively, lay bare the size and seriousness of a global money laundering epidemic—underscoring the need for better incorporation transparency measures.