Our friends and colleagues at Finance Uncovered have written a fascinating story entitled Liberia: America’s outpost of financial secrecy, which has been published today in South Africa’s Daily Maverick in cooperation with AmaBhungane. We'd urge you to read the whole fascinating story of … [Read more...]
Corruption
Three lessons on the hidden cost of corruption – for the West
A guest blog by Sigrún Davíðsdóttir Corruption and corrupt business practices have often been portrayed as a problem only endured by poor countries, of little consequence to the developed West. The three following stories show that this is a wrong-headed, old-fashioned understanding, reflecting … [Read more...]
Britain’s secrecy web: no corpses on the street, no problem
On the occasion of a global anti-corruption summit in London, Tom Burgis has written a superb long investigation into the City of London for the Financial Times -- read it, if you can get a copy. As a teaser: "For Andrea, the contrast between the American and British responses to BSI’s … [Read more...]
The Economist – How to crack a shell
We love this cartoon from this week's edition of The Economist, which comes from a lengthy article about the forthcoming anti-corruption summit in London. … [Read more...]
Tax Justice Focus – The Corruption Issue
As Britain prepares to host a global Corruption Summit in London next week, the Panama Papers have raised awkward questions about the country's role as an enabler of transnational organised crime. Meanwhile evidence is emerging that ordinary people in Britain no longer accept the elites' version of … [Read more...]
TJN Annual Discussion Workshop on Corruption and the Role of Tax Havens – programme
Discussion Workshop Corruption and the Role of Tax Havens #tjn16 City University, London, 28th – 29th April 2016 Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre, Northampton Square EC1V 0HB FINAL PROGRAMME … [Read more...]
Guest blog: Panama, the secret garden of the Colombian oligarchy
Update: Colombia and Panama reach agreement on information-sharing. Panama, the secret garden of the Colombian oligarchy This guest blog is written by a political news writer in Colombia, who wishes to remain anonymous. As everywhere else in the world, the disclosure of the Mossack Fonseca … [Read more...]
Area more than three times the size of Greater London owned in UK by secret companies in offshore tax havens
From Global Witness (no further comment from us is needed): Area more than three times the size of Greater London owned by secret companies in offshore tax havens An area of British land more than three times the size of Greater London is owned by secret companies in offshore jurisdictions like … [Read more...]
Taxing tax havens – Foreign Affairs article
TJN Senior Adviser James S. Henry has an article in the latest edition of Foreign Affairs entitled Taxing Tax Havens: How to Respond to the Panama Papers. It makes the point, as we have, that the tax havens are about so much more than tax, and then adds that much of the wealth supposedly stashed in … [Read more...]
Why Infantino’s claims he did nothing wrong are wrong
Cross-posted from our partner website The Offshore Game Infantino’s involvement in a dodgy deal over Champion’s league TV rights are no proof of corruption, but at a minimum they are proof that he is completely unfit to lead FIFA into a new era of transparency and accountability. … [Read more...]
The Panama papers – in case you missed it
The big offshore story of the moment is a new leak of 11 million documents from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca. The leak was originally to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, was shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and involves over 100 news … [Read more...]
Scottish Government announces historic law to end secrecy of land ownership
This topic has been building slowly in some countries, whose economies are blighted by the fact that large tracts of real estate are owned by anonymous entities and arrangements, typically linked to tax havens. We'd highlight Private Eye's searchable database of offshore-owned properties in the … [Read more...]
Oxfam report: Ending the Era of Tax Havens
Back in June 2000, three years before TJN's birth and at a time when nobody was talking about the issues, the charity Oxfam published a seminal document entitled Tax Havens: Releasing the hidden billions for poverty eradication. It was an important part of global tax justice history. We're … [Read more...]
Tax haven Panama: giving the world the “middle finger”
Stephen Sackur and the BBC's Hard Talk programme have been talking to Panama's Vice President Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado. (It's only available to UK-based viewers, unfortunately.) She begins with a bout of self-congratulation about Panama, and Sackur responds with a wide number of … [Read more...]
Switzerland’s financial secrecy brought under the human rights spotlight
Switzerland – arguably the world’s most important tax haven – may soon face scrutiny from the United Nations human rights system over its role in facilitating cross-border tax abuse. A coalition of civil society bodies has filed a submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination … [Read more...]