Transparency International calls G20 Leaders to End Corporate Secrecy

International - Wednesday, November 12, 2014

In an open letter sent to the G20 leaders who are gathering on 15 November in Brisbane Australia, Transparency International calls to put an end to corporate secrecy, which enables tax evasion and money laundering of illicit financial flows emanating from international crime and corruption. The G20 had declared that shedding light on corporate ownership is a priority and planned to debate the abuse of anonymous companies during this weekend. The letter requests it to take steps to compel multinational companies to publish information about their beneficial owners’ identity and their activities.

The letter is already signed by a number or prominent civil society organizations and public figures, including two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Transparency International Managing Director and the heads of various other organizations including Global Witness, the Africa Progress Panel, Amnesty International, Care International, Christian Aid, Oxfam, The One Campaign, Tearfund and World Vision.

This comes after a number of related achievements were made this year including the announcements by the Danish and British governments of their plans to create a public registry of beneficial ownership information, and the overwhelming vote of the European Parliament in March in favor of requirements that all financial institutions disclose their profits, taxes, subsidiaries, and staff levels on a country-by-country basis.