In “Fronts, Fakes and Façades,” The Sentry and Open Secrets expose how a Zimbabwean presidential advisor and business tycoon was able to move funds from the Reserve Bank to the City of London by apparently using false invoices and offshore financial facades.
Researchers led by Daniel Haberly (Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex) use big data analysis to provide a thoroughly-documented evidence base on illicit financial flows through certain offshore jurisdictions. The paper facilitated by the Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence research program emphasizes that four global financial centers play a disproportionately important role as enabling jurisdictions – the UK, UAE, US, and Switzerland.
Six years after France started collecting beneficial ownership information, more than a third of all registered companies have yet to declare any beneficial owner(s). Citizens have no idea who owns a stunning 1.53 million legal entities operating in France reveals the Anti-Corruption Data Collective.
The OECD is in the dock with the tax justice movement. Its demand of Australia to water down tax transparency legislation made the front page of the Financial Times, and that follows experts sharply worded critique of the OECD’s long-delayed package of tax reform measures, ahead of the ‘Inclusive Framework’ meeting in Paris this week.
The United Nations Secretary-General highlights the vital importance of information integrity and introduces a draft code of conduct for digital platforms. Member states are encouraged to adopt a global digital compact at the upcoming Summit of the Future in 2024.
In an effort to counter the pattern of summit commitments that are soon forgotten, the Africa Europe Foundation is organizing high-level broadcast dialogues as part of its 'Commitment Tracking' program aimed at capturing progress since the 6th EU-AU Summit of February 2022.
An uptick in the extraction of nickel is transforming local communities in Sulawesi, Indonesia, but locals express concern over the lack of consultation and information regarding new mines.
As Senegal’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) process progresses, it is essential that there is transparency and an inclusive consultation process that involves Senegalese stakeholders. Papa Daouda Diene and Thomas Scurfield suggest four next steps to make the process more inclusive.
SPECIAL RECOMMENDATION!
On June 12th, the GPSA co-hosted a one-day conference together with Chatham House. During the conference, stakeholders from governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society discussed how to make the climate finance system more accountable and transparent. TAI was there and now you can watch the recording.
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS:
announced further restructuring to streamline operations as outlined by the Board (and more press coverage here.)
LUMINATE:
The internet has become an important tool for Africans advocating for civil liberties. During a recent webinar on digital transformation and political governance in Africa, Luminate's Toyin Akinniyi called on the African Union and member states to protect free speech and ensure press freedom, both key pillars of democracy.
MACARTHUR:
Jen Humke, Senior Program Officer at the MacArthur Foundation, writes about the emerging generation of storytellers taking advantage of new technology to engage civically and politically.
FORD:
partnered with the African Climate Foundation and the Institute for Essential Services Reform in Jakarta to host a JETP Learning Exchange between Indonesia, South Africa and Vietham. Ambassador MK Lekgoro stressed the importance of such south-south coordination.
ESSENTIAL WATCHING!
Watch Democracy Now! interview with Kumi Naidoo on the Fight to Stop Construction of EACOP, Proposed Oil Pipeline in East Africa. The EACOP is facing continued resistance from climate activists around the world. Kumi Naidoo says it is pure colonial extraction and would desplace hundreds of thousands of people.
Shama Dossa, Clara Desalvo and Boikanyo Modungwa reflect on actions that philanthropy can take to decolonize practices, policies and resource flows. Learn from innovative approaches by the likes of Fenomenal Funds, The Young Feminist Fund, and Purposeful.
The Center for Effective Philanthropy takes a look at how nonprofits are faring right now, as related by nonprofit leaders themselves.
We are seeing a welcome trend to coleadership of late (Accountability Lab among the most recent CSO examples). Marianne Schnall helps explain the model that is gaining ground.
Charitable giving is typically linked to economic conditions. Read how foundation giving and payout changed last year and what it may herald for 2023.
ESSENTIAL LISTENING
On June 21, the World Bank Citizen Engagement and Social Accountability Global Solutions Group hosted a webinar to explore the interconnections between GovTech, Citizen Engagement, and Social Accountability. Hear how social accountability tools can address the challenges posed by weak government data management.
JOURNALISM IS THE CORNERSTONE OF DEMOCRACY
As Julie Pace reminds us, independent journalism provides citizens with the information they need to make informed decisions about policies that directly impact their lives. A free press helps hold political leaders accountable and serves as a check on the people and institutions in power.
How to maintain that freedom? Across Europe, independent news organizations are pioneering new ways to adapt and survive in an environment dominated by well-funded progovernment outlets as highlighted in the case of Hungary. Building trust through transparency about funding and costs is one step organizations are taking.
In recent years, Guatemala has suffered alarming democratic setbacks, especially in the fight against corruption. In May 2023, Freedom House joined seven international organizations to conduct a fact-finding mission on the state of press freedom in Guatemala. The same organization spoke with human rights defender Anamely Ramos González—a Cuban curator and academic who has worked alongside political prisoners Otero Alcántara and Osorbo—about the persecution of artists by the Cuban government, and how artists are defending freedom of expression.
JOBS LISTINGS
Debt focused Program Officer role, Development Policy & Finance - Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Consultant on beneficial ownership transparency in Canadian government processes- TI Canada
Mining Advocacy Coordinator, -Transparency International’s Accountable Mining Programme.
Impact Investment positions, Common Future
Good Governance Call for Experts and Proposals, Counterpart International
CALLS / OPPORTUNITIES
Local Media for Democracy offers grants in Europe. Deadline September 28, 2023
Nominations for the WINGS 2023 board are open. Deadline August 4, 2023
World Bank and IMF Civil Society Policy Forum Call for Proposals for the next Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Deadline July 31, 2023.
Next Generation Investigative Journalism Fellowship in Ghana. Deadline July 25
The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society calls for a Global Fellow and a Scholar-in-Residence. Rolling applications.
The World Bank Social Accountability and Citizen Engagement Practice is exploring the ways in which practitioners have incorporated a digital dimension into their work on citizen engagement and social accountability. Share your experiences and challenges via this short survey.
CALENDAR
Launch of “Misplaced Trust: why development banks should not rely on their clients to address reprisal risks”- 5 July, 2023
The next decade of systems change philanthropy registration - Webex
17 July | 14:00 BST | 15:00 CET
Tax Justice Series 2023: Early sightings of a new tax justice era. First Webinar, July 25th, 3:00 – 15:30 BST (GMT+1)
2023 SDG Summit, 18-19 September, 2023 in New York.
2023 Global Investigative Journalism Conference- 19-22 September, 2023, Gothenburg, Sweden