WASHINGTON, DC – In response to news today that British bank Standard Chartered PLC settled money laundering allegations with New York regulators by agreeing to pay $340 million in fines and submitting to monitoring, Heather Lowe, legal counsel and director of Government Affairs at Global Financial Integrity, released the following statement:
WASHINGTON, DC – The allegations levied yesterday by the New York State Department of Financial Services against British banking giant Standard Chartered demonstrate a systemic, widespread pattern of disregard for anti-money laundering policies at one of the world’s biggest banks, according to Global Financial Integrity, a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization.
WASHINGTON, DC – Amidst speculation over details of a possible tax agreement between Switzerland and Britain, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) reiterated the message that a broader, global solution to illicit financial practices and banking secrecy is needed.
WASHINGTON, DC – After nearly a year of delays, the UK Bribery Act went into effect on July 1st. The act mandates stiff penalties, including up to 10 years in jail, for bribes paid by any business with a UK presence. In an ironic twist, while the UK Act is being touted as an extension to its cross-Atlantic counterpart, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), anti-bribery proponents charge that the FCPA is under attack.
WASHINGTON, DC – In October 2003 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and designated December 9th as International Anti-Corruption Day. Global Financial Integrity looks back on the past year to see how anti-corruption efforts fared.
WASHINGTON, DC—The delay of implementation of the UK Bribery Act until April 2011 is a setback to international anti-corruption and economic development efforts in the world’s poorest countries. UK officials announced today that the bill, adopted in April, would not be put into effect for another six months.
WASHINGTON, DC – A new report released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) on private, non-resident deposits in secrecy jurisdictions finds that the United States, United Kingdom, and the Cayman Islands are the most popular destinations for financial deposits by non-residents. Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong also make the top 10 list of destinations.
WASHINGTON, DC – The UK’s proposal to tackle tax evasion in developing countries by instituting multilateral tax information exchange agreements and requiring multinational corporations to provide country-by-country reporting of profits and revenue could help prevent the loss of as much as $1 trillion from developing countries every year, says Global Financial Integrity (GFI).