World Leaders’ Weekend Summit Misses Opportunity to Act on Beneficial Ownership or Country-by-Country Reporting
Work Remains to Ensure Developing Countries Benefit Fully From Global Automatic Exchange of Financial Information, but Agreement to Include Developing Countries in OECD BEPS Project an Encouraging Move
WASHINGTON, DC – G20 leaders met this past weekend in Brisbane, Australia for their annual summit, issuing a communiqué full of ambitious proposals for growing the global economy, but noticeably lacking in responses to illicit financial flows, one of the largest drags on development worldwide. Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization, expressed its disappointment at the underwhelming result.
Rachel Payne
Global Financial Integrity
ASAP, GFI, and Yale Inaugurate Prize Honoring Nobel-Winning Economist Amartya Sen
2014 Contest Solicited Essays on Connection between Illicit Flows, Global Poverty, Inequality
WASHINGTON, DC / NEW HAVEN, CT – Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP), Global Financial Integrity (GFI), and the Yale Global Justice Program awarded the inaugural Amartya Sen Prize over the weekend to Max Everest-Phillips, Hamish Russell, and Gillian Brock for their essays on illicit financial flows, poverty, and inequality.
World Leaders Called on to Embrace Transparency Measures to Curtail Illicit Financial Flows
WASHINGTON, DC – As world leaders gather in Australia this week, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) called on the G20 to take strong action against illicit financial flows by embracing simple corporate transparency measures. Specifically, the Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization urged G20 leaders to endorse the creation of public registries of beneficial ownership information as well as require all multinational corporations to publicly report their sales, profits, and taxes-paid on a country-by-country basis, as necessary tools to detect and deter crime, corruption, and tax dodging.
GFI President Raymond Baker signed a letter to the G20 along with 24 other high level individuals calling on world leaders to support public registries of beneficial ownership information and require public country-by-country reporting for all multinational companies ahead of the 2014 G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia. GFI thanks Transparency International for coordinating the letter.
Move Strikes at One of the Biggest Tools for Laundering Money
Danish Plan Raises Pressure on European Council and Commission, G20, and U.S. to Take Action
WASHINGTON, DC – The Danish government announced today that it will create a public registry of beneficial ownership information for all Danish companies in a move lauded by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) as key to cracking down on one of the biggest tools for laundering the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax evasion.
89 Jurisdictions Commit to Exchange Financial Information Automatically by 2018 but Significant Work Remains
Framework Misses Broader Concept of Illicit Flows
WASHINGTON, DC – While noting significant progress today in the global effort to curb tax evasion, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) expressed concerns that the OECD/G20 movement toward automatic exchange of financial information was excluding the world’s poorest countries from reaping any benefits while failing to deal with the issue of illicit financial flows in comprehensive manor.
GFI President Raymond Baker participated in “Illicit Financial Flows on the Post-2015 Development Agenda,” a panel discussion organized by the World Bank ‘s Integrity Vice Presidency on October 11, 2014 during the 2014 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings. The forum addressed the issue of illicit financial flows in the context of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Joining Mr. Baker on the panel were (in alphabetical order) Hans Brattskar, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway; Mogens Jensen, Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation, Denmark; Marcel, Senior Director, World Bank Group; Leonard Mccarthy, Integrity Vice President, World Bank Group; Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor, Central Bank of Bangladesh; and Nena Stoiljkovic, Global Practices Vice President, World Bank Group.
October 11th Forum to Focus on Illicit Financial Flows in the Context of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda
High Level Discussion to Be Live-Streamed During the 2014 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) President Raymond Baker is to be featured on a World Bank panel on Saturday, October 11, 2014 focusing on the issue of illicit financial flows in the context of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda. Taking place as part of the 2014 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings, the discussion will feature high level representatives from the Governments of Norway, Denmark, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and the World Bank in addition to Mr. Baker.
