Financial Transparency Coalition

The U.S. Treasury is in the process of taking a big step toward making it harder for corrupt politicians, drug traffickers and terrorists to make use of the U.S. financial system, by forcing banks to know who their customers actually are. This is something we have been advocating for five years. Treasury recently released a proposed rule and is seeking comment until October 3, 2014. There’s info on how to do that here. It’s worth explaining precisely what we think the problem is, and what the rule should look like if it is...

Towards Transparency: Making the Global Financial System Work for Development, the Financial Transparency Coalition 2013 Conference, will take place in Dar es Salaam on October 1-2. To join in the discussion, or ask questions of the panel, Tweet us using the #Dar2013 hashtag, or follow FTC on Twitter at @FinTrCo. What do human trafficking, the arms trade, rhinoceros poaching, and illegal logging all have in common? All are revenue-generating industries perpetrated by transnational criminals, involving the movement of highly prized illicit goods. Our panel, Trade Crimes: Illicit Financial Flows from Wildlife to Weapons, will examine how money-laundering mechanisms, particular trade-based...

Addressing anonymous shell companies andhidden company ownership will be essential to successfully stemming the flow of illegal weapons around the world and protecting the innocent civilians who suffer from their proliferation. On April 5, it will be one year since Viktor Bout, also known as the Merchant of Death, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, finally putting an end to his notorious career as a weapons trafficker. Bout was convictedon terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York, including conspiring to kill Americans and provide material support to terrorists.

Today, a Senate Banking Committee hearing will examine the extent, causes, and consequences of banks’ failure to adhere to anti-money laundering laws, and the laxity of regulators who are meant to keep the banks in line. The hearing – entitled “Patterns of Abuse: Assessing Bank Secrecy Act Compliance and Enforcement” – follows a string of banking scandals that have raised serious questions about financial institutions’ compliance with anti-money laundering rules. Illicit flows of money through the financial system have been linked to corruption, international drug trafficking organizations, terrorist groups and sanctioned nations.