Tag Archives | G8

How the G20 could unmask the corrupt

The G20 leaders meet in Australia later this year. Pressure is growing on them to build on the commitments from last June’s G8 Summit on beneficial ownership. That’s an obscure phrase for an ugly truth: corrupt individuals from around the world are able to hide their money through complex corporate and trust structures, such that when an […]

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Public consultation in Jersey: chance to come clean

The use of shell companies to mask the true owners of assets is still on top of the political agenda and interest in the issue continues to grow. This week the UK government announced further details of its plan to implement a public registry of company ownership. This is important because shell companies can facilitate […]

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Shelving the shells

From one corruption fighting organisation to another, hats off to Global Witness. Founder Charmian Gooch and her colleagues have been recognised for their stellar efforts to highlight the damage done by corrupt practices in the extractives sector. In her award winning TED talk, Gooch highlighted the role of ‘the facilitators’ – global banks and global […]

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Russian money: too big to sanction?

As the Crimea crisis has developed, there have been calls to freeze Russian and Ukrainian assets in the UK. Russian money is unusual for two reasons. First, the sheer volume. Secondly, because there have been persistent allegations that a substantial proportion of it is dirty money – gained through organised crime and corruption in a […]

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Anti-corruption: charting a path for the future

What does the future hold for the fight against corruption? Recently, three books have been written seeking to answer this question, helping to plot the course of the anti-corruption movement for the years to come. Laurence Cockcroft: Global Corruption: Money, Power, and Ethics in the Modern World One of the co-founders of Transparency International, Laurence […]

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New year’s resolution: learn the language of bankers

If you have not yet made it to the gym, fear not. Exchange that new year’s resolution for another: learn a new language. But make sure you learn one which has a more practical purpose than ordering a drink or finding one’s way to the swimming pool. It’s time to learn the lingo of bankers […]

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G8: It’s time for action on money laundering

The UK Government has announced that transparency and anti-corruption will be key elements at the G8 summit this year. Much needed action on money laundering provides an opportunity to live up to that promise. Corrupt money flows through the UK – in particular through our financial services industry. Nobody knows how much, but it is […]

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Money laundering – are BVI leaks a game changer?

Reposted from Transparency International UK The recent leaks of information about who actually owns the companies registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) offer a first glimpse for many people into this very murky world. For years, small amounts of information have trickled out – often through court cases – that indicate these so-called secrecy […]

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G8 action on asset recovery for the Arab world

The G8 have just released an ambitious and comprehensive asset recovery action plan as part of the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition. It is timely and necessary to reinforce the momentum behind stolen asset recovery processes. The first step by G8 countries was to freeze the accounts of the authoritarian leaders Mubarak, Ben […]

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Pushing Forward G8’s Anti-Corruption Agenda

In India more than 200 million people live without secure access to food, the most of any county in the world, the Wall Street Journal reported last month. As the report argued, this is not because India lacks the resources to provide for its population. On the contrary, India’s domestic food production would be more […]

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