$33 Billion Illicitly Left Libya between 2001-2009, Says Global Financial Integrity
Since the forces of the Libyan Transitional Council entered Tripoli last week, Muammar Qaddafi has not been seen, presumably hiding or on the run from the revolution aimed at ending his 42-year rule. But as pointed out on ABC News last Wednesday, much of the money he looted from the country over the past 4 decades is still at large as well.
Citing Global Financial Integrity (GFI) research, ABC notes that at least $33 billion dollars left the country through illicit means in the past decade. Explaining the figure, GFI’s Monique Danziger noted:
Libya has the “spottiest” data reporting of the 162 countries that report financial figures to the IMF and World Bank.
“These are all puzzle pieces,” she said. “No one can say they have a wholistic estimate. You’re working with huge data gaps no matter what.”
A new online game, “Angry Anna” takes the popular smartphone game “Angry Birds” and replaces the titular birds with Indian corruption crusader Anna Hazare. Created by an India-based group, the game features Hazare and other anti-corruption figures being launched with a slingshot in an attempt to topple corrupt politicians.
While the piece is largely intended as some light-hearted fun, it may well turn out to be something more than a way to pass some time on the internet.
It can sometimes be hard to illustrate the importance of the issues the Task Force deals with, especially because these issues are hard for the public to learn about. While reality TV stars arrested for money laundering may make national headlines, the role money laundering can play in terrorism garners much less attention. This isn’t necessarily surprising, as illicit financial flows are complex processes that rarely make for glamorous headlines. Usually, these issues reach widespread audiences only in the most monumental of occasions, like the quest to recover Qaddafi’s stolen money.
J.P. Morgan Chase Pays $88.3 Million To Settle Sanctions Violations Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2011 Keeping Petrodollars Out of Despot’s Pockets Bloomberg Business Week, August 25, 2011 Libya Rebels Investigate Corruption At Sovereign Fund Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2011 RBA admits it knew of bribe claims Sydney Morning Herald, August 27, 2011 Why [...]
Libya: Moammar Gadhafi and His Billions Are Unaccounted For ABC World News With Diane Sawyer, August 23, 2011 Tracking Assets in the Arab Spring Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2011 “Lenient” UK-Swiss tax evasion deal provokes criticism The Telegraph, August 25, 2011 A Quick Guide To The Lokpal Bills Wall Street Journal, August 24, 2011 [...]
Billions spent on Afghan police but brutality, corruption prevail Reuters, August 24, 2011 Ramlila Journal: Biggest Corruption Gripe? It’s Not 2G, Stupid Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2011 Corruption charges filed against 4 Indian lawmakers in bribery scandal over ’08 nuclear deal Associated Press, August 24, 2011 Foreigners deposit less money in Swiss banks The [...]
Other nations were hurt by our low corporation tax rate-ESRI
Independent (Ireland), August 23, 2011
Ex-UBS Client Must Give Tax Records to Grand Jury, U.S. Court Rules
Bloomberg, August 23, 2011
Ocean Bank to pay nearly $11 million in drug money case
Miami Herald, August 22, 2011
Civil Society Shows Its Muscle
IPS, August 22, 2011
India sees no evil
Ottawa Citizen, August 20, 2011
Nigerian economy: Motion without movement
Daily Independent, August 20, 2011
Corruption weakens Thai anti-trafficking, says UN expert
Trustlaw, August 19, 2011
NZ set to tighten bribery laws ahead of trade deal
ONE News, August 19, 2011
Corruption in Nigeria: Multi-nationals pay $3.2b fine
Sunday Tribune (Nigeria), August 21, 2011
Vietnam and the World Bank recently held the first Viet Nam Anti-Corruption Intiative, or VACI. The Initiative encouraged the public—whether ordinary citizens, NGOs, or private business—to develop proposals to help combat corruption in their communities. VACI then selected 34 promising ideas, and awarded a total of approximately $450,000 to help fund the implementation of these plans in the coming year. It is hoped that this initiative will be repeated in 2013.
In order for pervasive corruption to be combated effectively, public support for anti-corruption initiatives is essential, and this year has seen people around the world taking a stand against graft in their societies.
The year began with ordinary Tunisians and Egyptians boldly casting out the corrupt dictators who stole their countries’ resources for decades. Bribery reporting websites, such as IPaidABribe.com (I Paid A Bribe), have become popular in India, China, and elsewhere. I Paid A Bribe has seen over 12,500 bribes reported, totaling almost $7,000,000 (317 million rupees). Now, the Indian public continues to take a strong anti-corruption stance, with students, Bollywood stars, and even Mumbai’s famed dabbawallahs, or lunch-deliverymen, have thrown their support behind Anna Hazare and his India Against Corruption movement.
The world of dirty money (part 1)
Corporations, crime, corruption, and capital flight (part 2)
TNCs, transfer pricing, and tax avoidance (part 3)
Fighting illicit capital flight (part 4)
Pambazuka News, August 18, 2011
365 days of freedom
Deccan Chronicle, August 19, 2011
US warns about Argentina’s ‘lack of progress’ in fighting money laundering activities
Buenos Aires Herald, August 19, 2011
In June, Reuters released the first article in “Shell Games,” their ongoing series of investigations into corporate secrecy. The piece, “A little house of secrets on the Great Plains,” exposed Wyoming’s lax incorporation laws. Featured prominently in the story was a house in Cheyenne that was the official headquarters of over 2,000 corporations, including some suspected of helping corrupt foreign leaders and dodging online gambling laws.
Wyoming has some of the most relaxed business incorporation rules in the country (along with Nevada and Delaware), which has made it a haven for those looking to establish shell companies, or even purchase already existing “shelf companies” in order to mask their financial dealings. The dangers these rules pose have been noted internationally, as the article points out:
Anna Hazare: One-Sixth of India’s GDP Lost to Corruption International Business Times, August 17, 2011 India’s Singh on the wrong side of history over graft The Australian, August 19, 2011 Africa looking to set up tax havens IOL Business Report, August 18, 2011 Looking for a tax haven? You can still find one. Die Welt, [...]
$360M lost to insurgents, criminals in Afghanistan Associated Press, August 17, 2011 Indonesia’s high-profile graft case widens Financial Times, August 16, 2011 Corruption watchdog urges FIFA to reform AFP, August 16, 2011 Migration of Banks From Former Tax Havens Begins Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2011 Tax dodgers thrive in Italy despite austerity plan Reuters, [...]
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