WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity announced today that Arvinn Eikeland Gadgil has joined its Advisory Council. GFI, a research and advocacy organization based in Washington DC, will benefit from Mr. Gadgil’s experience working to promote economic development and curtail illicit financial flows at the highest level.
Mr. Gadgil is Director of Partnerships and Policy at the Norwegian Refugee Council in Oslo. Prior to his appointment in January 2014 he was Norway’s Deputy Minister for International Development from April 2012 to December 2013. Previously, he was Political Advisor to the Minister of Development. From 2006–2007 he worked in the South Asia and Afghanistan section in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Gadgil has also been posted to Afghanistan and worked for Development Fund Norway.
European Vote Raises Pressure on White House & Congress to Follow Suit
EU Parliament Endorses Creation of Public Registries of Beneficial Ownership Information
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) praised the European Parliament for voting today to crack down on anonymous shell companies, a major conduit for laundering the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax evasion.
The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee as well as the Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee voted in favor of requiring public registries of beneficial ownership information for companies incorporated in the EU, as part of its revisions to the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD).
E.J. Fagan, +1 202 293 0740 ext. 227
New Standard Ensures All Nations Can Potentially Benefit from Robust, Automatic Exchange of Financial Information
G20 Finance Ministers to Review Document for Approval Next Week Ahead of Australian G20 Summit in the Fall
Research and Advocacy Organization Expects New Transparency Regime to Be ‘Game-Changing’ Deterrent to Cross-Border Tax Evasion, Money Laundering
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) applauded the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) today following its historic release of a new model multilateral agreement that countries will use to tackle tax evasion, money laundering, and other financial crime. GFI, a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC, touted this as a major victory and welcome culmination of one front in the long battle for cross-border financial transparency.
E.J. Fagan, +1 202 293 0740 ext. 227
Philippine Economy Loses US$132.9 Billion in Illicit Financial Outflows from Crime, Corruption, Tax Evasion over 52-Year Period; US$277.6 Billion Transferred Illegally into the Philippines
Smuggling through Trade Misinvoicing Cost Philippine Taxpayers at Least US$23 Billion in Customs Revenue since 1990
25% of Value of All Goods Imported into Philippines Goes Unreported to Customs Officials
Report Launch and Press Conference at Mandarin Oriental Manila Hotel at 10am Local Time on Tuesday, February 4th
MANILA, Philippines / WASHINGTON, DC – More than US$410 billion flowed illegally into or out of the Philippines between 1960 and 2011—reducing domestic savings, driving the underground economy, and facilitating crime and corruption—according to a new report to be published Tuesday by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advocacy organization. Over the 52-year period studied, the report finds that the Philippines suffered US$132.9 billion in illicit financial outflows from crime, corruption, and tax evasion, while US$277.6 billion was illegally transferred into the country, predominantly through the misinvoicing of trade transactions.
E.J. Fagan, +1 202 293 0740 ext. 227
GFI Urges EU Parliament Legislators to Follow UK’s Lead, Ban Anonymous Shell Companies
Anonymous Shell Companies are a Major Conduit of Illegal Funds; Public Registries of Beneficial Ownership are the “Gold Standard” in Curbing Phantom Firm Abuse
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) today urged members of the European Parliament to support the creation of public registries of corporate ownership information in the upcoming vote on key revisions to the European Union (EU) Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD). The pressure comes as GFI revealed that nearly US$70 billion in illicit financial flows—the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax evasion—flowed into or out of developing and emerging EU member-states in 2011.
Repeal of FATCA Would Cripple U.S. Crackdown on Tax Havens & Financial Secrecy, Cost the U.S. Taxpayer Billions
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) urged the Republican National Committee (RNC) to reject a proposed resolution calling for the repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)—the cornerstone of the U.S. effort to fight offshore tax evasion. The law, which was passed in 2010 as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, requires foreign banks to report deposit information on their U.S. accountholders for U.S. tax compliance, as is required of domestic U.S. banks.
Fraudulent Trade Misinvoicing Fueling Currency and Housing Speculation within the Country
WASHINGTON, DC – As the Chinese government recently announced moves to crackdown on illicit capital inflows through trade misinvoicing, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) finds that US$400 billion flowed illicitly into China from Hong Kong via trade misinvoicing between 2006 and the first quarter of 2013. The estimates by Global Financial Integrity were released today in an article by GFI Junior Economist Brian LeBlanc on the website of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
OECD Member Countries Not Compliant with International Standards for Fighting Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, and Corruption
Report from Intergovernmental Body Published 1 Week after GFI Study Found Developing World Lost Nearly $1 Trillion in Illicit Outflows in 2011
WASHINGTON, DC – A landmark report published today by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) takes its members—some of the richest countries in the world—to task for failing to implement policies to curtail illicit financial flows in the developing world. The OECD study—which was quietly posted on the multilateral institution’s website this morning—comes just one week after Global Financial Integrity (GFI) released its annual update on illicit financial outflows from the developing world, finding that the world’s poorest countries lost nearly US$946.7 billion in illegal capital flight in 2011, a 13.7 percent rise from the year before.
