Latest update January 30th, 2025 6:10 AM
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Adopt laws to outlaw secret companies -TIGI says
Global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International, is calling on all Governments to immediately adopt laws to outlaw secret companies that may be dwelling in their backyard.
President, David Granger
The company made this call to its members and those of the international community in wake of the investigation into the infamous Panama Papers. It said that a global investigation into the use of secret companies by the rich, powerful and corrupt has revealed a network of lawyers, bankers and others around the world and how they hide illicit wealth.
The Panama Papers, a massive leak of financial documents, reveals the offshore holdings of 140 politicians and public officials, including 12 current and former world leaders, who used more than 214,000 offshore entities to hide the ownership of assets.
“The Panama Papers investigation unmasks the dark side of the global financial system where banks, lawyers and financial professionals enable secret companies to hide illicit corrupt money. This must stop. World leaders must come together and ban the secret companies that fuel grand corruption and allow the corrupt to benefit from ill-gotten wealth,” said José Ugaz, the chair of Transparency International.
Transparency International is also calling for a renewed push for G20 countries to agree that public beneficial ownership registers should be the global standard, and sanctions applied to jurisdictions that do not conform to this standard.
This would include not just the G20, but also the numerous countries big and small where the creation of secret companies is big business. The Group of Twenty (also known as the G-20 or G20) is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
“How many more massive document leaks do world leaders need to see to understand that the lack of public registers of beneficial owners of companies is what keeps global grand corruption schemes alive and well?” Ugaz said.
Transparency International wants public registers of all companies’ beneficial owners to make it harder for the corrupt to hide their illicit wealth in secret companies and trusts that use nominees to register ownership. The G20 has supported measures to increase beneficial ownership transparency, but has done little to implement them.
“As more information is revealed about how a network of financial middlemen, lawyers, accountants and big banks facilitate both the movement of illicit wealth and the way to disguise who actually owns it, it is clear what has to be done. Enablers who help companies set up secret companies must be sanctioned and jurisdictions that welcome secrecy, must be outlawed,” said Elena Panfilova, Vice-Chair of Transparency International.
Within the framework of Guyana’s commitment to prevent money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, President David Granger has already made it clear that his Government is keen on combing the country for secret companies.
In a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Granger said that any matter that is unlawful, such as the smuggling of gold, the removal of large sums of monies – whether they are being brought into Guyana by plane or removed; or overseas /offshore banking, which is in breach of the laws of Guyana, would be investigated.
While media reports signal that there is a Guyanese connection to the Panama Papers saga, Granger said at the moment, he is not aware of this. He has indicated however that he will continue to follow developments in this regard.
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