Task Force on Financial Integrity

Sen Carl Levin demands universal country-by-country reporting in new US anti-tax haven bill

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Jul 122011

Senator Carl Levin introduced the “Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act” today in the US Senate, taking aim at offshore tax haven abuses which costs the US approximately $100 billion in lost tax revenue per year.

The bill contains an array of provisions which would permanently close offshore tax loopholes, raise revenue, and increase transparency and accountability for multinational businesses. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Bill Nelson, Sanders, Shaheen, and Whitehouse, and is supported by business leaders and public interest groups including Tax Research LLP partner in the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, Global Financial Integrity.

“Passage of the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act would be a game changer,” said Global Financial Integrity (GFI) director, Raymond Baker. “It would close offshore tax loopholes, remove incentives to send money and jobs overseas, level the playing field between small businesses and multinational corporations, and strengthen law enforcement and tax collection capacities.”

The bill also contains a provision (§201) to require annual country-by-country reporting by SEC-registered corporations related to their employees, sales, purchases, sales, financing arrangements, and taxes. This provision is similar to §1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 which requires all U.S. and foreign companies registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to publicly report how much they pay governments for access to their oil, gas and minerals.

“The country-by-country reporting provision adds a layer of pro-investment, best practices accountability to this bill,” said Mr. Baker. “For investors, the more information available about a company’s business practices and balance sheets, the better. This reporting requirement would also help anti-corruption and economic development efforts in developing countries by creating more transparency and accountability in the business dealings between multinational companies and governments.”

All The Biggest Spanish Companies Use Tax Havens, Says A New NGO Report

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Mar 042011

The following blog has been reposted from the blog of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, of which Tax Research LLP is a member. It was written by Mar??a Jos?© Romero and Susana Ruiz of Euordad – another Task Force member:

Practice Costs Spain, Developing Countries Dearly in Much-Needed Tax Revenue

A recent report by the Spanish observatory on Corporate Social Responsibility, which comprises several civil society organisations, reveals that ALL companies listed in the Spanish stock exchange operate directly or indirectly through jurisdictions which are considered opaque by theFinancial Secrecy Index of the Tax Justice Network.

The report entitled, “Corporate Social Responsibility in the annual report of companies in the IBEX35,” highlights that more than 80% of companies that are part of the benchmark stock market index (IBEX 35) in the Spanish stock exchange (the Bolsa de Madrid) operate through tax havens. The remaining companies either have shareholders that are based in or have shares in tax havens. This means that all listed companies operate either directly or indirectly through tax havens.

The report finds that 28 Spanish companies have as many as 272 subsidiaries in 27 secrecy jurisdictions, from where they can operate without disclosing relevant financial information about their activities (such as the taxes they pay, profits they make and people they employ in the countries where they operate).

The extractive company Repsol stands out as the group with the highest number of subsidiaries domiciled in tax havens, with as many as 38; it is closely followed by Santander Bank with 34, BBVA Bank with 23 and the infrastructure company Ferrovial with 22. The secrecy jurisdictions with the highest concentration of Spanish company subsidiaries are the Netherlands, Delaware, Luxembourg, Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Puerto Rico and Panama.

Spanish company Abertis, for example, obtained the license to operate three airports in Bolivia. But between the operating company in Bolivia and the headquarters in Spain, it owns no less than eight intermediary companies located in tax havens, such as Delaware.

Tax dodging: Are companies complying with their commitments on corporate social responsibility?

This dramatic increase in investments from the IBEX35 companies in tax havens could have had a harsh impact on the Spanish public coffers, as Spain’s corporate income tax revenue has more than halved between 2007 and 2009. However, during the same period, these companies have continued to make huge profits. [1]

The damage could be even bigger in developing countries where they operate. Their systematic use of tax havens makes it practically impossible for poorer countries’ tax authorities to collect the type of information that they would need to fairly tax the Spanish companies.

Legal but unethical, and against the spirit of the law

This lucrative search for ways to pay less – creating complex corporate structures, routing money through opaque tax havens, and employing highly paid professionals to find loopholes – is legal. However, it is not only ethically questionable, as some CSO recent reports conclude, but it also goes against the spirit of the law, which is established to ensure that companies pay their fair share of taxes, not to encourage them to use the loopholes in the law to minimise their tax liabilities. This strategy is clearly incoherent with principles of responsible investment, and public statements from these companies that claim that they contribute to sustainable economic social and environmental development.

Legally binding laws are needed to make companies pay their fair share of taxes

The report highlights the lack of transparency in the ways these companies report financial information, but it also highlights other non-financial issues such as their social and environmental impact. This proves that voluntary reporting standards are not enough: mandatory reporting standards are urgently needed to radically enhance transparency on corporate performance.

This is even more the case when companies, including those in the IBEX35, operate and make profits through theirsubsidiaries in developing countries. Paying taxes in developing countries is one of the most important contributions made by foreign investors in return for the profits made in those same countries. So far, it is completely unknown what their contribution to the public coffers is in developing countries where they operate.

This could be easily fixed if companies were to report the profits they make, and taxes they pay (among other crucial financial information) on a country-by-country basis. This reporting standard would allow for assessing the performance of individual companies within a group, thereby increasing transparency and helping fight tax avoidance.

Financial transparency is crucial to providing the right information to any country’s tax authorities on the profits made and staff employed, so tax authorities can determine whether companies are paying their fair share of taxes. However, for countries where the capacity of tax authorities is relatively weak, such as in developing countries, financial transparency is – if possible – even more important.

The report concludes that in times of crisis, with a decrease in social rights, with freezes in salaries and pensions, and with public money used to rescue private companies, citizens demand transparent information; however, voluntary guidelines are not making the grade. That is why civil society is calling for clear and harmonised, legally bindingrules.

Notes:

[1] Whilst profits actually dropped by 14% over this time-span (2007-2009), they still remained quite large, and the loss in profit margins was dramatically less than the loss in corporate tax revenue that the Spanish tax authorities experienced.

The Independent on Treasure Islands

Country-by-country, Secrecy jurisdictions, Task Force on Financial Integrity, Tax avoidance, Tax evasion, Tax Havens 22 Responses »

Feb 182011

The economics editor of the Independent has written a review of Nick Shaxson’s book, Treasure Islands. To be candid, it’s easily the most cynical to date.

As he concludes:

[A]part from new potatoes, gold-top milk and some tourism, Jersey has little going for it economically. Nor do most of the British overseas territories fingered by Shaxson – which are only nominally under UK jurisdiction, a point he neglects or misunderstands. Most are too small and poor to be independent states, even with their financial income. As a second-best they have been granted self-government and they are, uncomfortably for the rest of us, entitled to levy tax as they wish as of democratic, sovereign right – though their self-government sometimes leaves much to be desired. Why should the UK bully them?

Besides, it is an ugly but unavoidable truth that if Jersey or the Caymans didn’t do it, then someone else would. At least in “our” havens, we have a chance of keeping an eye on things. In tax, the one great wearisome certainty is that someone, somewhere, in some other obscure treasure island with an even more relaxed attitude to dirty money, will always undercut you in the great race to the bottom.

With the greatest pf respect for Sean O’Grady who wrote this he’s wrong. It’s obvious he knows he is too. These places – all part of the UK and issuing UK passports – are not self governing any more than the Isle of Wight is. So long as they tow the line they can create their own laws, but all their laws are scrutinised in London, are subject to UK approval and we have the right to legislate for them and take them over when need be – as we have with the Turks & Caicos Islands right now. So much for self government. That’s the convenient charade that suits the City, Westminster and these places and the financial services industry rather well. Implicitly he recognises this in his comment on being ‘second best’. This shows he knows the charade is a simple game of legislatures for hire.

And again, with the greatest of respect to Sean O’Grady the logic inherent in this analysis is only becoming of an economist, and a poor one at that. His argument on the race to the bottom is akin to saying ‚Äòlet’s not bother about crime as it will always be with us’. Or ‚Äòlet’s ignore the drugs problem as there will always be addicts’.

We don’t say that of crime, and for good reason. Nor do we say it of drugs, although the reality is that the statements I have made are true.

The difference in this case is that these statement he makes is simply not true of tax haven behaviour. As is being shown time and again, action is working. Under pressure tax information exchange agreements are being signed. As experience of them inreases people are demanding that they be made to deliver. India’s is the latest voice at the table. And as the EU has shown this week, contrary to all that Sean O’Grady says the EU and the UK have real power to impose change on the Crown Dependencies and demand real change, whether they like it or not.

O’Grady is wrong. There is no need for a race to the bottom. There are extremely effectiveweapons that can be used to tackle tax haven abuse. Automatic information exchange is one, and a simple mechanism for achieving this goal that makes tax information exchange agreements worth having is available. / so we would know what profits are recorded by multinational corporations in tax havens, and what tax is not paid as a result. Registers of beneficial ownership of trusts and corporations would transform tax haven secrecy. And the use of a genuine unitary basis of taxation would almost eliminate the allocation of tax haven profits by multinational corporations at least.

The argument that the race to the bottom is inevitable is not in fact an argument at all. It is a statement of political wish, that the status quo be preserved and that as a result the abuse continue. But that is not necessary, at all. The members of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development have shown that there is a viable alternative to this abuse. Apologists need to smell the coffee: we’re not going to let them get away with saying the abuse of the world’s tax systems is inevitable and nothing can be done about it because that’s just not true any more.

Mubarak’s cash

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Feb 152011

There is enormous interest in where Mubarak’s cash might be hidden. I know that I and other members of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development are all taking calls on this issue, and some press comment is following as a consequence.

Before noting those comments, what is really interesting is that no one doubts that Mubarak has such cash hidden outside Egypt, and that the amounts involved are enormous. It goes without saying, it seems, that it is right to assume that the outright ruler of an African state will have accumulated an enormous personal fortune that cannot be explained legitimately. Regrettably, that is true. I will consider the implications later, the press commentary needs attention next. As CNN has reported:

Global efforts are intensifying to seize assets belonging to Egypt’s former president, Hosni Mubarak, following the revolution in the north African nation.The former Egyptian leader may now be residing in Sharm el-Sheikh following his flight last week from Cairo — but where is his fortune?What moves have been made to track down Mubarak’s assets?Switzerland’s government said Friday it had moved to freeze assets in the country’s banks that might belong to Mubarak or his family. The Swiss Cabinet had frozen all funds belonging to Mubarak or “his circles,” according to a statement from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

As, however, I have already noted, this raises an incredibly important question. If these assets could been frozen this weekend, why weren’t they frozen before? If there was doubt as to their legitimacy now, why not at any point in the previous 3o plus years? These funds were not money laundered this weekend. They were money laundered, if they exist, sometime before hand. What changed, apart from the fact that the president was no longer the president?

And why depressingly has it been reported that:

The British government has not yet moved to freeze any assets held in the UK, but the Serious Fraud Office told CNN that they were preparing in case they are asked to do so.

Worse still is notes:

UK Business Secretary Vince Cable told the BBC that his government would act against any British bank involved in helping Mubarak improperly move funds but said London would not act alone.”I wasn’t aware that he (Mubarak) had enormous assets here but there clearly needs to be concerted international action on this,” Cable told the BBC.”There is no point in one government acting in isolation but certainly we need to look at it. It depends also whether his funds were illegally obtained or improperly obtained.”

That is quite ludicrous. The whole point of a country acting individually is to prevent funds moving to another location. It is precisely why action is required by individual countries. Vince Cable seems to have entirely missed the point of anti-money-laundering action, and the need for stolen asset recovery.

How much might be recovered? The figure is open to speculation, but Task Force members have been asked to provide the data:

Nicholas Shaxson, a Chatham House analyst with specialist knowledge of both Africa and tax havens, suggested to CNN that a conservative figure might be between $1 and $2 billion, although he cautioned that no one outside the family really knows.Global Financial Integrity, a Washington DC-based research and advocacy group, said $57 billion flowed out of Egypt between 2000 and 2008, lending to widespread speculation that some of that money went to corrupt leaders. “The exercise of power is an expensive business in corrupt countries and a dictator will have many supporters to pay off,” said Shaxson. “Without wanting to minimize the amount of money allegedly plundered from Egypt by Mubarak, they should be chasing his supporters too.”

I entirely agree. As I do with this comment:

The main problem in tracking down Mubarak’s assets is the many layers of secrecy that disguise ownership. “His houses will not be owned under the name H. Mubarak Esq,” Shaxson said. “They might be owned by a trust registered in Cyprus, run through Switzerland for example. There might be up to five layers of secrecy, and devices known as “flee clauses” that the immensely wealthy use to throw investigators off the scent and hinder attempts to seize illegally obtained assets.”

And that does not happen without assistance, assistance from the offshore community, which is one reason why so many of us find it so repugnant.

India joins the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development

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Jan 262011

As part of a newly announced government plan to tackle corruption, crime, and illicit capital flight, the government of India has joined the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development’s Partnership Panel. Task Force Partnership Panel members also include the governments of Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Ford Foundation.

Tax Research LLP is a full member of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development along with Christian Aid, Global Financial Integrity, Tax Justice Network, Global Witness, EuroDad, Transparency International and Secretariat of the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development.

In a recent report, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2000-2009,” lead Task Force member Global Financial Integrity (GFI) ranked India’s illicit outflows as the 15th largest among developing countries: approximately $104 billion, cumulative, from 2000-2008. Another report from GFI, “The Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial Flows from India: 1948-2008,” estimated that India lost a total of $462 billion from 1948 to 2008.

A press release issued Tuesday morning by India’s Ministry of Finance stated:

The Government has formulated a five pronged strategy which consists of joining the global crusade against ‚Äòblack money’; creating an appropriate legislative framework; setting up institutions for dealing with illicit funds; developing systems for implementation and imparting skills to the manpower for effective action‚Ä¶

India has joined the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development in order to bring greater transparency and accountability in the financial system.

The Task Force advocates five recommendations for addressing the current global financial crisis, each one focusing on transparency and extending initiatives that have already begun to be put into place:

Curtailment of mispricing in trade imports and exports;
Country-by-country accounting of sales, profits, and taxes paid by multinational corporations;
Require that the beneficial ownership of companies, trusts and foundations be readily available on public record;
Automatic cross-border exchange of tax information on personal and business accounts; and
Harmonization of predicate offenses under anti-money laundering laws across all Financial Action Task Force cooperating countries.

I’m delighted that India has recognised the importance of our work and the impact it might have on development by securing for that country the resources it needs to deliver the services its people need – services they are currently denied by tax avoidance and tax evasion through tax haven locations.

The New Haven Declaration on financial transparency and country-by-country reporting

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Jan 112011

A unique coalition of asset management firms and civil society organizations issued a statement today committing to call on governments and relevant multilateral institutions to establish a country-by-country financial reporting standard for multinational corporations.

The “New Haven Declaration on Corporate Financial Transparency” establishes links between corporate accountability, business practices, and economic development and poverty alleviation. New Haven statement signatories include groups like Trillium Asset Management and Wealth for the Common Good and represent $20 billion in combined assets under management.

The statement notes that “approximately $100 billion in tax revenue leaves developing economies each year due to trade-related price manipulation by corporations,” and goes on to assert that “one of the first responsibilities of business to society is to pay its fair share of taxes,” and that “aggressive and ‚Äòcreative’ global tax strategies have become commonplace among multinational corporations, resulting in significant tax losses to both developed and developing countries. Some of these strategies involve violations of local law.”

The statement asserts that “current financial reporting requirements allow companies to hide these practices from investors and governments” and that signatories “strongly urge the G8, G20, WTO, the European Union and other international fora, as well as national governments, world leaders, faith groups, civil society organizations and corporations to recognize the linkage between corporate financial transparency, good corporate governance, social justice and stable market.”

“The New Haven Declaration represents the growing realization in the business community that financial accountability and transparency is good for business,” said Raymond Baker, director of New Haven signatory Global Financial Integrity. “Best business practices stand to create a robust and resilient global financial system while helping to root out corruption and crime in developing economies. As understanding of the links between tax collection, fair and open business, and economic development and good governance grows, we can expect to see more of these types of partnerships.”

Several signatories embraced the spirit of the declaration in a December 21st letter to the European Commission’s Consultation on Financial Reporting on a Country-by-Country Basis by Multinational Companies, in which they wrote “we ask the European Commission to require country-by-country reporting within the annual audited financial statements of all multinational corporations listed on a stock exchange.”

Click here to read the full New Haven Declaration on Corporate Financial Transparency.

Click here to download the full letter to the European Commission.

Organisations wishing to add their names to the Declaration, can do so by visiting http://newhaven.gfip.org.

Tax Research UK is proud to be a signatory to the New Haven Declaration.

The Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development

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Sep 262010

Tax Research UK is a member of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development.

The Task Force has its conference next week.

The Task Force has more than 70 allied members now, most from developing countries:

5^th Pillar (USA)

Aakar Trust (India)

Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (Afghanistan)

AfriCOG (Kenya)

African Citizens Development Foundation (Nigeria)

African Monitor (South Africa)

African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (Nigeria)

Anti Corruption Committee (India)

Article 19 (United Kingdom)

Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (Bangladesh)

BankTrack (The Netherlands)

Berne Declaration (Switzerland)

Campaign for America’s Future (USA)

Center for Research, Innovation and Training (Nepal)

Centre for Development Studies and Activities (India)

Centre for Transforming India (India)

Charities Aid Foundation India (India)

Development Action Group (South Africa)

Dream A Dream (India)

Economic Justice Network (South Africa)

Empowerment Gateway (Portugal)

eStandardsForum (USA)

Ethics Institute of South Africa (South Africa)

Ethiopian Economic Association (Ethiopia)

Experts in Responsible Investment Solutions (United Kingdom)

Foreign Policy in Focus (USA)

Global Concerns India (India)

Global Health Council (USA)

Global Network for Good Governance (Cameroon)

Gram Bharati Samiti (India)

HELIO International (France)

Indo-Global Social Service Society (India)

Indonesian Corruption Watch (Indonesia)

INSEC (Nepal)

Institute of Rural Research and Development (India)

Integrity Watch Afghanistan (Afghanistan)

Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (Kenya)

LATINDADD (Peru) Peru

Les Enfants D’Abord (France)

Lokoj Institue (Bangladesh)

Malaysian Society for Transparency and Integrity (Malaysia)

MANS (Montenegro)

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (USA)

MediaGlobal (USA)

Olive Leaf Foundation (South Africa)

Pakistani Institute of Legislative Development & Transparency (Pakistan)

Partners in Change (India)

Partnership for Transparency Fund (USA)

PRAGATI, Koraput (India)

Praxis (India)

Pro Public (Nepal)

Saath Charitable Trust (India)

SANGOCO (South Africa)

SHERPA (France)

Social Activities for Rural Development Society (India)

Society for All Round Development (India)

TANGO (Tanzania)

The Association on Third World Affairs (USA)

The Center for Economic and Social Development (Azerbaijan)

The Fight Against Corruption (South Africa)

The Foundation for the Development of Africa (South Africa)

The Oakland Institute (USA)

Transnational Institute (The Netherlands)

Transparency Ethiopia (Ethiopia)

Transparency International Indonesia (Indonesia)

Transparency International Nepal (Nepal)

Transparency International Pakistan (Pakistan)

Transparency International Uganda (Uganda)

Transparency Maroc (Morocco)

Transparency Zero Corruption (Macedonia)

Universal Giving (USA)

USAction (USA)

VOICE (Bangladesh)

World Policy Institute (USA

Why financial integrity?

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Aug 262010

The following is by Alex Cobham of Christian Aid and is reposted from the blog of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development. Tax Research UK is a member of the Task force:

The Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development has a problem. There are two common reactions when people hear about it. The first is ‚ÄòSnappy title.’ The second is ‚ÄòFinancial integrity? What’s that?’

Now, it’s true that the title is on the long side, but this shouldn’t in itself be a problem – if the name gives people an immediate understanding of what we do, and why it matters. And to be fair, the focus of the Task Force is – well, exactly what it says on the label. Each of the five recommendations we pursue aims to contribute to a globalisation with greater financial integrity, to support a more just and inclusive pattern of economic development.

No, it’s the second reaction people have which is the problem. ‚ÄòFinancial integrity? What’s that?’ It’s a problem for the Task Force if people aren’t clear what we do; but it’s a much bigger problem if we’re not able to communicate clearly the nature and importance of the goal of financial integrity. And if people don’t immediately understand what is meant by ‚Äòfinancial integrity’, it’s probably unlikely that they’re going all out to support it‚Ä¶

More than that, a lack of clarity will undermine progress even where there is support. The coordinating committee of the Task Force, for example, includes Transparency International (TI) and the Tax Justice Network (TJN). TI blazed a trail in focusing international attention on weaknesses of financial integrity among public officeholders in developing countries, through their high-profile Corruption Perceptions Index. More recently, TJN (in partnership with Christian Aid) have published their Financial Secrecy Index which highlights a lack of integrity in the ‚Äòtax haven’ behaviour of jurisdictions large and small, rich and poor.

The work of others on the coordinating committee – Christian Aid, Eurodad, Global Financial Integrity, Global Witness, the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development, Tax Justice Network, Tax Research UK, and Transparency International – focuses on these and other aspects of financial integrity, from the transparency of multinational group accounts to the return of assets stolen from developing countries.

How then can the Task Force communicate more clearly the shared vision of financial integrity, in a way that accelerates real progress? One possibility which we are now exploring is that of an index. Task Force members have had significant success with their various indices in raising the profile and greater understanding of their aims, and ultimately in driving policy change.

Is it possible to rank countries, according to consistent data on a range of issues that reflect the perspectives of civil society, of the private sector, of other governments and of international organisations? How would you go about capturing and then combining, and balancing the different aspects of financial integrity, or a lack thereof, from opaque accounting to different tax haven practices, from grand political corruption to low-level graft, and so on?

The Task Force will therefore be exploring these issues in the coming months, and is keen to invite a range of views. If you or your organisation would like to take part in the initial consultation or subsequent discussions, please email info@financialtaskforce.org, or leave a comment below. Initial discussions will take place at the Task Force’s Annual Conference in Bergen next month.

Transparency First

Task Force on Financial Integrity Comments Off

Jun 102010

Pieces authored by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) director Raymond Baker and GFI director of government affairs Heather Lowe appear in the latest issue of the American Interest. The July/August edition of the bimonthly publication hits newsstands this week and may be viewed online at http://www.the-american-interest.com/

GFI manages the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development of which Tax Research LLP is a member.

In his piece, "Transparency First," Mr. Baker discusses the on-going process of reform to the global financial system, including regulatory reform for banks and other financial institutions.

The range of current ideas for correcting flaws in the national and global financial system is extensive," writes Baker. In lieu of "incremental changes that will leave holes big enough for the global economy to fall through again," Baker explains how "transparency based reform accomplishes far more, far faster than regulation and oversight," and could be the best insurance against another global financial meltdown.

Mr. Baker outlines a plan for legislating transparency noting that "an attack on secrecy is not at the same time an attack on privacy‚Ä¶Transparency does not diminish financial security, it adds to it."

Ms. Lowe’s article, "Law as Leverage," looks at domestic reform efforts around the problem of corporate opacity and secrecy jurisdictions. "Despite the renewed focus on the link between financial transparency and economic stability, opacity is still spreading," Ms. Lowe writes.

Ms. Lowe examines the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, the Energy Security Through Transparency Act, and the recently-passed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

"The legislation described here that is now pending in Congress represents an important start to solving several problems‚Ä¶Yet the attentive American public, which has been deluged with information about how to rein in Wall Street’s excesses, knows practically nothing of these measures, and the lack of knowledge could be a problem."

Mr. Baker and Ms. Lowe are frequent contributors to various international, financial, and legal publications including recent pieces published in the The New York Review of Books and the American Bar Association International Anticorruption Committee newsletter.

Mr. Baker is the author of Capitalism’s Achilles Heel: Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free-Market System. He has for many years been an internationally respected authority on corruption, money laundering, growth, and foreign policy issues, particularly as they concern developing and transitional economies and impact upon western economic and foreign interests.

Ms. Lowe draws upon extensive international legislative experience in banking and finance law to produce pieces on everything from U.S. domestic financial reform to international tax information exchange treaties.