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.
E.J. Fagan, +1 202 293 0740 ext. 227
Illicit Financial Outflows from Developing World Up 13.7% from 2010
Nearly $6 Trillion Stolen from Developing Countries in Decade between 2002 and 2011
China, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, India—in Declining Order—are Biggest Exporters of Illicit Capital over Decade; Sub-Saharan Africa Suffers Biggest Illicit Outflows as Percent of GDP
Study Is First GFI Analysis to Incorporate Re-Exporting Data from Hong Kong and First GFI Report to Utilize Disaggregated Trade Data in Methodology
WASHINGTON, DC – Crime, corruption, and tax evasion drained US$946.7 billion from the developing world in 2011, up more than 13.7 percent from 2010—when illicit financial outflows totaled US$832.4 billion. The findings—which peg cumulative illicit financial outflows from developing countries at US$5.9 trillion between 2002 and 2011—are part of a new study published today by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization.
E.J. Fagan, +1 202 293 0740 ext. 227
WASHINGTON, DC – As the world commemorates International Anti-Corruption Day on Monday, December 9, 2013, Global Financial Integrity (GFI)—a Washington-based, non-profit research and advocacy organization—reviewed many of the most notable achievements, developments, and shortcomings in fighting corruption and illicit financial flows for 2013.
“2013 has proven to be a landmark year in terms of policy advancements to curtail corruption and illicit financial flows,” said GFI President Raymond Baker, a longtime authority on financial crime. “Years of hard work by policymakers, researchers, and advocates culminated in real, on-the-ground policy achievements that will directly impact the amount of money leaving developing countries. We saw a few setbacks, but overall the year was very encouraging.”
