Posts

Beneficial ownership and climate crimes: A fishy business

By Matti KohonenFirst published on Tax Justice Network In this blog we explore how climate justice and tax justice advocates can unite and demand beneficial ownership transparency for sectors prone to climate crimes.  As the Tax Justice Network has previously noted, the climate crisis and financial secrecy are closely connected. Immense pressure and a set Read more >

TI Africa: fighting for transparency, integrity, engagement, and accountability 

“You and your … colleagues have taken the lead in the enhancement of transparency relating to beneficial ownership, protections for whistle-blowers, and improved asset recovery mechanisms,” former Constitutional Court justice Richard Goldstone on Wednesday told representatives of Transparency International (TI) chapters from across Africa. Goldstone was delivering the keynote address at TI’s regional meeting for Read more >

Tax havens will siphon trillions unless action taken

We know about the millions and billions lost to theft, corruption, maladministration, and other widely publicised causes – but what about the more insidious loss of similar amounts to the undeclared movement of taxable funds across borders? On 25 July the Tax Justice Network (TJN) published its annual State of Tax Justice report, and at Read more >

Enablers galore: the countries that contribute to illicit financial crimes

By Janine Erasmus – CW Voices In part one of our latest mini-series, we posed the question: who are the real corrupt countries in today’s globalised context? We considered factors such as beneficial ownership transparency, the implementation of the African Union Anti-Corruption Convention, and pan-African collaboration in anti-corruption research. The usual suspects such as Nigeria Read more >

Will Africa become Russian oligarchs’ new safe haven? 

First published on Financial Transparency Coalition  During the last decade, Russia has expanded its interests and presence in Africa by investing in the mining sector and increasing military support to fragile states, primarily through private military contractors and mercenaries. One of Africa’s most prominent private military groups is the Wagner Group, believed to be financed by one Read more >

Developed countries highly complicit in financial secrecy 

Illicit financial flows create an unjust society and further worsen inequality, especially for underdeveloped countries. This is the message from the Tax Justice Network (TJN), which released its 2022 Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) on 16 May.  The FSI is a ranking of jurisdictions which fuel financial secrecy by helping individuals to hide their finances from Read more >

New company ownership regulation a step in right direction

By Mashudu Masutha and Karabo RajuiliFirst published on News24 The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global standard-setting body for combating money laundering, setting minimum standards via 40 recommendations. It has sanctioning mechanisms for countries that fail to comply. Recently, the organisation updated its Recommendation 24, which deals with beneficial ownership transparency – and Read more >

Accelerating beneficial ownership transparency in Africa

By Maureen Kariuki, Karabo Rajuili and and Edwin Wuadom WardenFirst published on Open Government Partnership Corporate anonymity poses significant risks to domestic resource mobilisation in Africa. Research by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) suggests that African countries can retain an estimated US$89-billion per year if illicit capital flight can be addressed. Accelerating Read more >