Tag Archives | Panama Papers

Stiglitz and Pieth Panama Papers report: a roadmap for global transparency in the 21st century

15 November 2016 in beneficial ownership, Financial Integrity

After resigning from Panama’s official effort to clean up its financial sector, Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and transparency expert Mark Pieth have come out with their own independent report. And it’s a good one. Overcoming the Shadow Economy moves the focus away from Panama itself, to tackle the global problem of secrecy and its […]

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Let’s pick up the slow pace of change in Panama

26 August 2016 in Americas, beneficial ownership

The recent moves by the Panamanian government to clean up its image in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal may eventually lead to a more transparency and accountable financial sector.   But only if the pressure is kept on the Panamanian government. The Panama Papers showed how one Panamanian law firm was able to set […]

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How to steal billions

22 July 2016 in Accountability, Politics and government, Private sector

From 2009 to at least 2013, private individuals were allegedly able to siphon off more than $3.5 billion from the wealth fund of Malaysia and go on a high-end luxury shopping spree in several countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland for property, museum-quality art and a private jet. Gatekeepers such as […]

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The $6.5 million apartment on Starovolynskaya Street

31 May 2016 in beneficial ownership, Europe and Central Asia

How is it possible for the extended family of Russian politicians and civil servants to get a $6.5 million apartment situated in the Moscow equivalent of millionaires’ row? That was the question that came to mind when we started investigating 15 Starovolynskaya Street and the Rogozin family. Dmitry Rogozin is Deputy Prime Minister and in charge of the Ministry […]

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Let’s celebrate whistleblowers

29 April 2016 in Access to information, Accountability, Civil society, Whistleblowing

Four medical doctors received Transparency International Sweden’s Whistleblower of the Year (“Årets Visselpipa”) award earlier this month for speaking up against the gross ethical misconduct of a celebrated surgeon whose organ transplants turned out to be fatal. Whistleblowers provide a great service to society. The case of the Swedish doctors is a good example of […]

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Yes, there are legitimate uses of shell companies They still shouldn’t be secret

15 April 2016 in Access to information, beneficial ownership, Financial Integrity

Thanks to an anonymous provider of data and the incredible work done by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), over the last days the world has gained an unprecedented peek into the global system of secret shell companies. The Panama Papers revelations have forced governments to respond, one national leader to step down, and […]

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THE PANAMA PAPERS AND TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

9 April 2016 in Politics and government, Private sector

  Communicators are strong swimmers. We don’t always sprint, but we can handle long distances and the hard swim upstream. The Panama Papers have exposed a global web of secrecy and corruption that hurts all of us. It has also exposed the Chair of our chapter in Chile and that deeply troubled us. He of […]

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Public pressure forces Iceland’s prime minister to step down over Panama Papers

6 April 2016 in Financial Integrity, Politics and government, Private sector

Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson resigned on Tuesday just one day after thousands of people marched in the streets protesting his use of secret bank accounts facilitated by Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm which had as clients Gunnlaugsson and his wife. Iceland was the only country that jailed top financial executives behind bars in […]

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Secret company ownership: a global solution for a global challenge

4 April 2016 in Accountability, Financial Integrity, Politics and government

The way the rich and powerful hide their ill-gotten gains is headline news around the world today. The Panama Papers show everyone how easy it is to set up secret companies that let people avoid taxes and launder money. Kings do it, business tycoons do it, footballers do it, presidents and prime ministers do it.  […]

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