Financial Transparency Coalition

Move over, Cayman. Step aside, Switzerland. The world’s next offshore powerhouse won’t be in the Caribbean or the Alps. It won’t be an island surrounded by water, a peninsula in Asia, or a tiny nation barely larger than a city. It won’t be in New York, Delaware, or London. Because it won’t be anywhere. It will all be a figment of our imaginations—and of course the internet. I’m talking about internet currencies, and specifically, the largest of them all: Bitcoins. And I firmly believe they will pose the next great challenge for stemming money laundering, corruption, and illicit financial flows. Bitcion...

$800 million. That’s the staggering amount of money said to be unlawfully transferred out of Iraq every week. Last month marked the ten year anniversary of the start of the occupation of Iraq by coalition forces. The aftermath of war and occupation has been ravaging well after the withdrawal of foreign troops. The US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction has investigated corruption for nearly a decade involving US funds and recently released a final extensive report called Learning from Iraq.

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.

In a response to the OECD’s February report Addressing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, 58 campaigning organisations say it’s time to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax. Eurodad, Christian Aid and others call on the OECD and G20 to work with the United Nations Tax Committee and governments in developing countries to define new rules for the taxation of multinational companies.