The Guidance to the new anti-bribery law was released this morning. Heather Lowe, Legal Counsel and Director of Government Affairs at Global Financial Integrity, released the following statement about the Guidance earlier today:
“The UK Government has taken an iron-clad piece of legislation that, if applied as written, would have put UK and U.S. companies on a level playing field when it comes to preventing bribery and corruption and turned it into rubber. The Guidance to the Bribery Act published by the UK Ministry of Justice today molded the previously strong standards of corporate liability set out in the Act to accommodate the cries of UK businesses that have enjoyed little regulation with respect to their overseas business practices. The Guidance also sends a clear message to businesses that unless the bribes under investigation are of a significantly large amount, there is little reason to fear prosecution under the Act. The Obama Administration and the OECD, which recently admonished the UK for delaying its implementation of the Act, should make it clear that today’s Guidance does not create an acceptable standard of enforcement.”
The new anti-bribery law is scheduled to go into effect in July.
The CBS television news magazine, 60 Minutes, is going to run a segment on the issue of tax havens and transfer pricing. CBS describes the segment as:
“60 Minutes,” Sunday at 7 P.M. ET/PT
(CBS) SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 2011
The New Tax Havens - American companies are finding new overseas tax havens to legally protect some of their profits from the U.S. tax rate of 35 percent, among the highest in the world. Lesley Stahl reports. Shachar Bar-On is the producer.
Indeed, our good friend, Marty Sullivan from Tax Analysts, is slated to be on the program. Visit the 60 minutes website for a preview of the segment and formore information on the program.
Sanctions in 72 hours: How the U.S. pulled off a major freeze of Libyan assets
Washington Post, March 24, 2011
Liberal group pushes to end deferral on overseas corporate profits
The Hill (Blog), March 23, 2011
Taxman chases overseas Americans and their bankers
Asia Times, March 25, 2011
UK wealth industry relief at new rules on non-doms
Reuters, March 24, 2011
Budget changes to tax haven rules could cost poor countries 4 billion pounds
ActionAid, March 23, 2011
Barbados hits back at OECD
Caribbean 360, March 23, 2011
EXCLUSIVE-Buddy can you spare $1bln? Cable shows Qatar gaffe
Reuters, March 22, 2011
Qatar sought $1.0-1.7 bln from oil, other firms – cable; Donations requested for flagship Sidra Medical Center; Companies “shocked and angered” by letters sent in 2008; Payments could be construed as breach of corruption law
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) – Qatar, one of the world’s richest nations, stunned international oil companies in 2008 by asking them for more than $1 billion to help pay for a new medical centre, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable.
Raymond Baker, director of Task Force member Global Financial Integrity, appeared on two separate TV channels/shows on Friday: CBS (CBS Evening News) and Bloomberg (InBusiness).
Watch Mr. Baker discuss the assets of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi on Friday’s CBS Evening News:
Last week at the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal, the African branch of Task Force coordinating committee member Tax Justice Network, Tax Justice Network – Africa (TJN-Africa), released the African edition of Tax Us If You Can.
As Dereje Alemayehu, chair of Tax Justice Network’s African Steering Committee, put it in a blog last week from Dakar:
This report is a clarion call to civil society and governments across Africa to stand up against the injustice of those who dodge taxes, and the response from those attending the launch was clear: this is an injustice we can no longer tolerate.
The photo, courtesy of TJN, shows Bruno Gurtner, chair of Tax Justice Network’s global Board of Directors, with Dereje Alemayehu at the launch last week.
US Fed cash-flow data called underused weapon in war on drugs (Complinet Special Report)
Reuters (Blog), January 31, 2011
Indian government pressured to stop tax evasion
Daily Telegraph, February 1, 2011
Chair of OECD Working Group on Bribery concerned over delay of new Bribery Act
OECD Press Release, February 1, 2011
Egyptians Rally Against Mubarak as Turmoil Spreads
Bloomberg, February 1, 2011
Kabul Bank employees flee to Pakistan amid investigation into lending, officials say
The Washington Post, February 1, 2011
Big four auditors ‘embedded in tax haven world’
Financial Mail, January 30, 2011
Aggressive tax planning: Identifying risks and responses
OECD Press Release, February 1, 2011
200% tax evasion penalties loom
Accountancy Age, February 1, 2011
Membership Part Of Government Strategy To Tackle Illicit Financial Flows, Increase Global Financial Transparency
WASHINGTON, DC – As part of a newly announced government plan to tackle corruption, crime, and illicit capital flight, the government of India has joined the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development’s Partnership Panel. Task Force Partnership Panel members also include the governments of Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Ford Foundation.
In a recent report, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2000-2009,” lead Task Force member Global Financial Integrity (GFI) ranked India’s illicit outflows as the 15th largest among developing countries: approximately $104 billion, cumulative, from 2000-2008. Another report from GFI, “The Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial Flows from India: 1948-2008,” estimated that India lost a total of $462 billion from 1948 to 2008.
Swiss banker Elmer re-arrested over Wikileaks charges
BBC News, January 19, 2011
Tunisia: Ali Baba gone, but what about the 40 thieves?
The Economist, January 20, 2011
Where the Hot Money Flows
Asia Sentinel, January 20, 2011
Russia follows China in illicit capital outflow
Pravda.Ru, January 20, 2011
Malaysia is fifth in illegal money chart
Malaysian Insider, January 20, 2011
UAE loses Dh1 trillion to illicit capital outflows
Emirates 24/7, January 20, 2011
Illicit outflows from Gulf hit nearly $1trn
TradeArabia News Service, January 20, 2011
Nigeria leads Africa in illicit financial outflow with $130b – Report
Daily Independent (Nigeria), January 19, 2011
Report Measures the Cost of Crime, Corruption, and Trade Mispricing on Developing Countries; China Alone Loses $2.18 Trillion
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) released its annual analysis of the cost of crime, corruption, and trade mispricing on developing countries yesterday. The report, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2000-2009,” finds that approximately $6.5 trillion was removed from the developing world from 2000 through 2008. The report also examines illicit flows from Asia, which produced the largest portion of total outflows and makes projections for 2009. (Full report 3.35 MB, Tip Sheet 172KB)
The report ranks countries according to magnitude of outflows with China ranking 1 ($2.18 trillion), Russia 2 ($427 billion), Mexico 3 ($416 billion), Saudi Arabia 4 ($302 billion), and Malaysia 5 ($291 billion). The report also shows the annual outflows for each country and breaks outflows down into two categories of drivers: trade mispricing and “other,” which includes kickbacks, bribes, embezzlement, and other forms of official corruption.
“Every year developing countries are losing ten times the amount of Official Development Assistance (ODA) remitted for poverty alleviation and economic development,” said GFI director Raymond Baker. “This report measures the quantity and pattern of these harmful outflows and provides stark proof of the impact of these illicit financial practices.”
U.S. emerges as Swedish tax haven
UPI, January 19, 2011
Tunisia probes foreign assets of deposed leader
AP, January 19, 2011
Swiss government says to freeze assets of Ben Ali and Gbagbo
Reuters, January 19,2011
Swiss ex-banker found guilty but not jailed
Reuters, January 19, 2011
Haiti charges ex-leader Jean-Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier
BBC News, January 19, 2011
Swiss Banks Unfairly Targeted, Says Mirabaud
Tax-News.com, January 19, 2011
Black money in foreign banks ‘plunder’ of nation: Supreme Court
Indian Express, January 19, 2011
Scandal-hit PM skirts major cabinet changes
Reuters, January 19, 2011
Report Says Developing Nations Lost $6.5 Trillion In Illicit Outflows In Last Decade
Wall Street Journal (Blog), January 18, 2011
Cable: US knew of corruption
Al Jazeera, January 16, 2011
Swiss whistleblower hands bank data to WikiLeaks
Reuters, January 17, 2011
WikiLeaks unlikely to release Swiss bank data soon
Reuters, January 18, 2011
Haiti’s ‘Baby Doc’ in surprise return from exile
AP, January 17, 2011
Haiti police take Duvalier to court
AFP, January 18, 2011
Zardari ‘pocketed millions’ in French subs deal: report
The Nation (Pakistan), January 15, 2011
Emerging economies toughen tax stance
Financial Times, January 18, 2011
In Brazil, there is an agency known as “the Lion,” whose agents fly around the ...
May 23, 2012
The G8 have just released an ambitious and comprehensive asset recovery action plan as part ...
May 23, 2012
Wednesday's daily news updates from Global Financial Integrity
May 23, 2012
Officials in Switzerland have opened criminal proceedings against Libyan and Syrian citizens suspected of holding ...
May 22, 2012
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