Denmark, Italy and United Kingdom Advance Toward Active Enforcement; 20 of 36 Signatories Doing Little to Nothing to Enforce Ban on Foreign Bribery
A number of countries were applauded for their efforts to enforce a ban on foreign bribery in a report released yesterday by Transparency International (TI). Yet many countries are still not doing enough, if anything at all. The report looks at how well the 32 OECD member countries and non-members are complying with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which establishes legally binding standards and measures to deter foreign bribery of officials through international business transactions.
The report classifies countries into three categories: active, moderate and little to no enforcement. Placement is based on the number and importance of criminal prosecutions, civil actions and judicial investigations that have been carried out by each country.
Seven countries, which represent about 30 percent of world exports, are reported as having substantially deterred foreign bribery. Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States make up this group, which increased by three countries from the previous year.
A report prepared by the staff the of the Joint Committee on Taxation for a public hearing held on 22 July 2010 before the House Committee on Ways and Means includes six case studies of companies that reported effective tax rates at least 10 percentage points lower than the U.S. statutory rate for a period of years, along with large gaps between the countries in which they reported sales and the countries in which they reported earnings.
A new Business Against Tax Havens report, ‘Unfair Advantage: The Business Case Against Overseas Tax Havens,’ looks at the unfair advantages that large companies have as a result of tax evasion and the amount of revenue lost in tax havens. The report puts forth nine policy recommendations, which include banning offshore corporations and repealing the 80/20 rule.
Lately, the oil industry has been getting a lot of attention. The BP oil spill has been a 24-hour news cycle dream: live streaming video of the gushing well dominated CNN’s stream for more than 80 days. Even now, with the oil-well temporarily capped, the media continues to focus on the petroleum industry. Talk of the Energy Security through Transparency Act (ESTT), which was tucked into the financial reform bill, has largely centered on the impact that the legislation will have on the extractive practices of the industry.
Meanwhile, however, another storm—a movement calling on companies to stop using “conflict minerals”—has gained prominence. A recent story in Newsweek looks at how the ESTT will impact this particular (and devastating) extractive industry.
“Conflict minerals,” like blood or conflict diamonds, help fund civil war and violent militias, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mining for these rare metals leads to rape, murder, and other terrible crimes. Yet, it also produces cameras, computers, music players and cell phones.
New Legislation Will Increase Transparency in Extractive Industries, Help Fight Corruption in Developing Countries
Global Financial Integrity Press Release, July 15, 2010
Wall Street Reform Includes Big Steps on Oil and Mining Transparency
The Huffington Post, July 15, 2010
Financial Overhaul Signals Shift on Deregulation
The New York Times, July 15, 2010
4 Questioned in Widening French Scandal
The New York Times, July 15, 2010
Swiss Lawyer Indicted for Conspiring With HSBC Client
Bloomberg, July 15, 2010
Tax Dodgers, Inc.
In These Times, July 16, 2010
Buddy, Can You Spare 1%?
The Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2010
Chairman Levin Announces Hearing on Transfer Pricing Issues
House Ways and Means Committee Press Release, July 15, 2010
The conclusions approved by the Council of the European Union for the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on June 14, 2010.
WASHINGTON, DC — The G20 Summit in Toronto June 27th-28th was heavy on promises and lean on concrete action items, notes the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development. While the G20 expressed a strong desire to “close the development gap,” increase transparency, and tackle corruption and money laundering, there was a notable lack of language indicating an understanding of the interconnected nature of these different problems.
The declaration released following the conclusion of the G20 Summit meeting on June 26-27, 2010 in Toronto, Canada.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) meeting in Dakar began today and runs through Wednesday, June 23, 2010. The UNCAC, which calls for the prevention and criminalization of corruption, was formed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2005. To date, the convention is comprised of 145 member states and is the sole international judiciary body against corruption. International cooperation and asset recovery are other major principles of the UNCAC.
“The Convention goes beyond previous instruments of this kind, criminalizing not only basic forms of corruption such as bribery and the embezzlement of public funds, but also trading in influence and the concealment and laundering of the proceeds of corruption,” according to the UNCAC website.
Leaders of the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as Mauritania, Morocco and Rwanda are expected to attend. Other invitees to this conference include: representatives of the commission of ECOWAS, the African Union, and other development organizations such as the United Nations Development Program and the African Development Bank.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a report called The Globalization of Crime: A Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment on June 17.
Money laundering and trade mispricing were some of the topics discussed by the panel discussion in a Capitol Hill briefing yesterday on the ninth African Economic Outlook (AEO).
The AEO is produced annually by the OECD Development Center, African Development Bank and United Nations Commission for Africa. Although the report provides a comprehensive analysis of economic, political and social developments, the main topic of discussion surrounded the illicit outflow of money from the continent via money-laundering, transfer pricing and tax evasion.
Global Financial Integrity Director Raymond Baker explained how the flow of illicit money out of Africa into developed countries, such as the United States, is impeding the economic progress of the continent.
Baker said the following:
Illicit money is not just leaving Africa, but is also coming in to the United States, Global Financial Integrity Director Raymond Baker explained at a briefing this morning on the 2010 African Economic Outlook (AEO). Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) unexpectedly listened in during Baker’s comments and recognized that something needs to be done.
“Certainly I’m going to take a really serious look at the dollars that come in to the United States wrongly because I do think we have a responsibility, and we have to take ownership of it,” Congresswoman Jackson Lee said.
She also recognized a need for “transparency in the financial system” as Africa continues to develop. She stressed the importance of ensuring that the money in Africa, be it through aid or other sources, is used effectively for the people.
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