Home · Articles by: Clark Gascoigne

Posts by Clark Gascoigne

About the Author:

Clark Gascoigne is the Communications Director at Global Financial Integrity in Washington, DC.

Wednesday’s Top News Stories

May 19, 2010

The Wall Street ICEcapade
The American Interest, May 18, 2010

Swiss business dismisses EU membership
Swissinfo.ch, May 19, 2010

Cantons urge parliament to approve UBS deal
World Radio Switzerland, May 19, 2010

Swiss Government: Rejection Of UBS Pact Would Reignite US-Swiss Spat
Dow Jones Newswires, May 19, 2010

Swiss banks’ mantra of ‘go east’ carries risks
MarketWatch, May 18, 2010

EU Moves to Tighten Control of Hedge Funds
The Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2010

Company at Center of Manas Fuel Probe May Have Ties to Afghan Entities
EurasiaNet.org, May 19, 2010

EMC Founder Egan Cheated IRS While Envoy, Judge Says (Update1)
Bloomberg News, May 19, 2010

Italy Investigates 7,000 HSBC Account Holders for Tax Evasion
Bloomberg News, May 19, 2010

…

Levin-Merkley Amendment Would Shed Light on an Opaque Financial System, Says GFI

May 19, 2010

Offshore Clearinghouse is Systemic Product of a Lack of Transparency;
Senate Leadership Decision to Prevent Vote on Amendment is Troubling

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) speaks at the 2009 annual conference of the Task force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON, DC (GFI) – The fate of a crucial element of financial reform efforts, an amendment proposed to the Financial Stability Reform Act by Senators Carl Levin ((D-MI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) is in limbo ahead of a cloture vote scheduled to take place on the Senate floor later today. The proposed amendment—which will reportedly be prevented from receiving a vote on the Senate floor—will ban banks from proprietary trading, and its omission from the financial reform bill would set back critical efforts to increase transparency in offshore financial markets, said Global Financial Integrity today.

An article published last night in the American Interest by investigative journalist, Lucy Komisar, outlines some of the crucial elements of the amendment, the problem of proprietary trading, and highlights one glaring example of how bankers game the system to evade taxes with the case of ICE Trust.

“Clearinghouses such as ICE Trust U.S. move large sums of money around the world,” writes Komisar. “ICE Trust is located in the Cayman Islands. Yet none of the owners of ICE Trust Holding Co. are based in the Caymans.”

Tuesday’s Top News Stories

May 18, 2010

Transparency in Financial Reform: Because God Doesn’t Like Secrets
The Huffington Post, May 18, 2010

Greek minister sacked over husband’s taxes
Financial Times, May 18, 2010

UBS may face US suits if parliament kills deal: Swiss minister
Reuters, May 16, 2010

EU Lawmakers Ok Rules For Hedge Funds,Private Equity
The Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2010

The AIFM directive: Another European mess
The Economist, May 18, 2010

Opinion: Tories are foolish to line up Northern Ireland as a tax haven
The Guardian, May 18, 2010

India, US end row over taxing captive units
The Economic Times, May 18, 2010

Seedy underworld of human trafficking
BBC News, May 18, 2010

Corruption, Mismanagement Strangle Vital Kenyan Watershed
New York Times, May 18, 2010

FIFA wants ‘bribery’ probe report before World Cup
The Associated Press, May 18, 2010

Police want Lieberman charged for obstructing corruption probe
Haaretz, May 18, 2010

…

Monday’s Daily News Round-Up

May 17, 2010

Toothless parliament a symbol of Africa’s failed ambitions
The Globe and Mail, May 17, 2010

Possible ties to murky finance system examined
The Boston Globe, May 15, 2010

Swiss retreat helps Transocean save millions
The Associated Press, May 15, 2010

Viking raider has days to lift veil on tax haven assets
The Sunday Times (of London), May 16, 2010

Top football clubs flee to tax havens
The Sunday Times (of London), May 16, 2010

Tax Evasion: Lagos Shuts 250 Companies
This Day, May 17, 2010

Swiss banker turned whistleblower ended up with a prison sentence
The Washington Post, May 16, 2010

Greece says will clean up corruption in politics
Reuters, May 16, 2010

Ibori: EFCC, Met Police Meet for Extradition
This Day, May 17, 2010

…

Friday’s Top News Round-up

May 14, 2010

U.S. Firms Dodge Billions in Taxes by Moving Profits Overseas (Video)
World News with Diane Sawyer, ABC News, May 13, 2010

Profit Exports Import U.S. Tax Cuts for Pfizer, Lilly, Oracle
Bloomberg, May 14, 2010

Pharma’s ‘aggressive’ tax-avoidance tactics draw fire
FiercePharma, May 14, 2010

Greek ‘tax-dodging’ doctors named
BBC News, May 14, 2010

ECOFIN: Move On Hedge Fund Law Likely Despite UK Fears
Dow Jones Newswires, May 14, 2010

New UK aligns with US on hedge funds
Associated Press, May 14, 2010

Editorial: A matter now less taxing
Mint (India), May 14, 2010

Star magistrate warns of intense Iceland bank probe
AFP, May 14, 2010

Italy bribery scandal widens, casts pall on government
Reuters, May 14, 2010

Small-time corruption Greece’s big problem
Sydney Morning Herald, May 15, 2010

…

Thursday’s News Round-up

May 13, 2010

Offshore Centers Attract Larger Share Of Illicit Funds–Report
Dow Jones Newswires, May 13, 2010

Companies Dodge $60 Billion in Taxes Even Tea Party Condemns
Bloomberg, May 14, 2010

Swiss Whittle Away at Banking Secrecy
The New York Times, May 13, 2010

Swiss court requested to allow I-T to probe Hasan Ali’s wealth
The Economic Times, May 13, 2010

Obama committed to passing free-trade deals: Clinton
Reuters, May 12, 2010

Faisal Shahzad used “Hawala” System to Get Money, Sources Say
CBS News, May 13, 2010

Chasing Taliban’s overflowing coffers, cash couriers
CNN, May 13, 2010

Half of Russians believe bribery solves “problems”
Reuters, May 13, 2010

500 euro note – why criminals love it so
BBC News, May 13, 2010

Zardari’s ‘Eureka’ moment to see end of troublesome Swiss graft cases
Oneindia, May 13, 2010

…

On the Dirty Money Trail-New Report Tracks Hundreds of Billions in Illicit Finances to Points of Deposit

May 13, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A report released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) examines where trillions of dollars in illicit finances—the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax evasion—are being deposited.

The new report, The Absorption of Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2006, rounds-out the groundbreaking analysis put forward in GFI’s 2008 report Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2006, which estimated that the developing world was losing $1 trillion per year to illicit financial practices.

The report will be revealed at a media event May 13th, 12:00pm-1:30pm, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Report findings will include:

Wednesday’s Top News Stories

May 12, 2010

Government woos parties over UBS data
Swissinfo.ch, May 12, 2010

Swiss parliament nears deal on U.S. tax deal impasse
Reuters, May 12, 2010

Swiss Bank Regulator Was Blinded by UBS Image, Government Says
Bloomberg, May 12, 2010

Denmark: Tax Amnesty
Mondaq News, May 12, 2010

Complicit in Corruption: How German Companies Bribed Their Way to Greek Deals
Der Spiegel, May 11, 2010

Tax Evasion: Oil Giant SAIPEM in N14bn Dispute
This Day (Nigeria), May 12, 2010

Four Irish firms implicated in Brussels probe
RTÉ (Ireland), May 12, 2010

Tax evasion drives huge profits in property industry
Global Times (China), May 12, 2010

Canadian Man Pleads Guilty in Web Gambling Fraud Case (Update2)
Bloomberg, May 11, 2010

French court refuses to free Noriega before trial
The Associated Press, May 12, 2010

…

Christian Aid: Football, poverty and tax havens – tackling financial secrecy

May 11, 2010

From Christian Aid:

LONDON—Christian Aid has teamed up with football supporter groups to highlight the damage caused by the secrecy offered by tax havens – and demand that the rules be changed.

Blowing the Whistle: Time’s Up for Financial Secrecy, reveals how the same tax-haven secrecy that allows football club owners to hide their business practices – and even their identities – is also facilitating massive tax dodging in developing countries.

And while such practices are threatening to ruin the beautiful game, for people in the world’s poorest countries they are a matter of life and death.

Top of the league

Christian Aid has worked with the Football Supporters Federation and fan ownership group Supporters Direct to compile Blowing the Whistle.

Tuesday’s Top News Stories

May 11, 2010

Crisis sparks backlash against Greek political graft
Reuters, May 11, 2010

Football, poverty and tax havens – tackling financial secrecy
Christian Aid, May 11, 2010

New rules will force Leeds to reveal owners’ names
The Guardian, May 11, 2010

Ex-Mexican Governor Laundered With Lehman, U.S. Says
Bloomberg, May 11, 2010

US urged to probe Saudi business spat
Financial Times, May 11, 2010

Top JPMorgan adviser says fired for whistleblowing
Reuters, May 10, 2010

ABN AMRO bank pays 500 million for busting US sanctions
AFP, May 10, 2010

Dictator’s son fails to show at Geneva court
Swissinfo.ch, May 11, 2010

…

Behind the Greek financial crisis: US$160 billion lost to illegal capital flight in the last decade, according to analysis from Global Financial Integrity

May 11, 2010

Global Financial Integrity lead economist, Dev Kar, has prepared an analysis on the Greek financial crisis for the blog of the Task Force on Financial Integrity & Economic Development in which he looks at the role illicit financial flows— Greece lost an estimated US$160 billion in unrecorded transfers through its balance of payments in the last decade—played leading up to the current financial crisis.

In the piece Mr. Kar writes:

Even as Greece’s debt burden grew ever more onerous, its burgeoning underground economy fueled massive illicit financial flows, or illegal capital flight, out of the country. Based on well-established economic models, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) estimates that over the past decade ending 2009, Greece lost an estimated US$160 billion in unrecorded transfers through its balance of payments.

Mr. Kar goes on to note that, paradoxically enough, Greek traders manipulated customs invoices to sneak illicit capital into the country. These inflows, due to their illicit nature, did not contribute to the solvency or growth of the Greek economy. Mr. Kar writes: