The OECD's Common Reporting Standards (CRS) is the big game in town for curbing cross-border financial transparency. As we've often noted, it is a good project, with global reach, but with loopholes. One of the biggest of these loopholes, perhaps -- after Loophole USA -- is the problem of 'fake … [Read more...]
The Mechanics of Secrecy
Agreement in Buenos Aires on need for public registries of beneficial ownership
From Andres Knobel Buenos Aires - On June 10th and 11th, Tax Justice Network together with Argentina’s General Prosecution Office (Ministerio Público Fiscal), Argentina’s Central Bank and other NGOs including Fundación SES, Latindadd and CIPCE hosted a two-day event involving … [Read more...]
In memoriam: FIFA’s stench kills free speech in Cayman
More fallout from the toxic FIFA scandal (see here, here and here). … [Read more...]
Financial Secrecy Index: new academic paper
Cross-posted with the Uncounted blog: a forthcoming paper in Economic Geography. The Financial Secrecy Index is the Tax Justice Network's flagship index of secrecy jurisdictions, or 'tax havens'. The idea emerged from discussions at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, in January 2007. In … [Read more...]
Jersey’s foundations law is fit for money launderers: scrap it
Foundations, like trusts and anonymous shell companies, are often used as secrecy vehicles for the purposes of money laundering, tax cheating, and much more. A while ago we pointed to an offshore promoter who had this to say about foundations: "Trusts are . . . tools of the rich used to stay rich … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice #59
Our quirky weekly news round-up from the topsy-turvy world of tax havens. The piratical Duchy of Luxembourg charges journalist over LuxLeaks What does Jean-Claude Juncker think of this? Luxembourg, the country he led for 18 years and steered in the direction of becoming one of Europe's biggest … [Read more...]
The deep joy of trusts and foundations
We aren't sure whether to be horrified, flattered or entertained. Take a look at this peculiar video from a rather iffy-looking offshore promoter, complete with '80s soundtrack and faux newsroom. If you go to the original source of this video, it turns out that they are explicitly using TJN … [Read more...]
Britain’s new company registry is a job half done
First, the good news: the UK government has committed to creating a central public register of company ownership following Parliament's approval of this crucial measure to tackle crime and tax dodging. … [Read more...]
Where did Zimbabwe’s diamond revenues go?
From Tax Justice Network Africa, via its Afritax feed, a video showing a Zimbabwean member of parliament, James Maridadi, taking the Minister of Finance to task on revenue from Marange Diamonds. The brief exchange is worth watching, not least for the Minister's evasive manoeuvres. But it's … [Read more...]
How the ‘competitiveness’ dogma made banks corrupt
We've come across an interview in The Atlantic with Stephen Platt, an expert on financial crime prevention, contained in an article entitled How Dirty Money Gets Into Banks. As much as anything, we've taken it as an excuse to reproduce this fabulous cartoon in Britain's Private Eye magazine, which … [Read more...]
Quote of the day – Swiss whitewash
From John Gapper in the Financial Times: “In the past, the Swiss private banking industry operated very differently to the way it does today,” HSBC said this week in its mea culpa. Perhaps so, but I recall Swiss banks claiming in the mid-1990s — a decade before this happened — that tax evasion was … [Read more...]
Drug cartels, terrorist financing risk and sanctioned regimes also on HSBC’s books under Lord Green
Press release from Global Witness Systemic failure to stop money laundering or comply with US laws shows need for sanctions for senior executives at big banks The HSBC tax scandal shows that UK law needs to be changed so that senior bankers are held criminally responsible when they oversee … [Read more...]
#SwissLeaks – Tax transparency for accountability
Cross-posted from Uncounted: Alex Cobham Much of the #SwissLeaks data has been in the hands of tax authorities for 5 years. Many of the questions raised relate to individuals and to particular regulators and governments – but there’s also a broader question that goes to the type of solutions … [Read more...]
Slovak govt. to enact new anti-shell company law after scandal
A guest blog by Miroslav Beblavy, Member of Slovak Parliament for the opposition party Sie?, (who has been involved in drafting the legislation) and Silvia Hudackova, assistant to Miroslav Beblavy. Slovak government committed to enact new anti-shell law after the healthcare procurement … [Read more...]
Bogus US shell cos, inc. “Are you hiding from the law?” she chuckled
We recently pointed to a fascinating article by U.S. journalist Ken Silverstein about Mossack Fonseca, a particularly troubling ask-no-questions offshore incorporations firm based in Panama, with offices in many of our favourite offshore jurisdictions: the Bahamas, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Switzerland, … [Read more...]
