The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)

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We-Fi is a collaborative partnership among 14 governments, eight multilateral development banks (MDBs), and other public and private sector stakeholders, hosted by the World Bank Group. It seeks to address financial and non-financial constraints faced by women-owned/led small and medium enterprises in developing countries.

The founding financial contributors are: Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. These 14 governments have committed over $340 million to launch the facility’s activities.

We-Fi finances projects, programs, and activities that are aligned with its objectives and principles. Project implementation is led by Implementing Partners that are screened and accredited by the We-Fi Governing Committee. Under the first call for proposals, the following MDBs were eligible to apply as Implementing Partners: African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Invest, International Finance Corporation, Islamic Development Bank Group, and World Bank (the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association). MDBs are encouraged to partner with UN agencies, international financial institutions, civil society organizations, business groups, and/or other entities currently working in this field to help implement activities…..we-fi.org/
call-for-proposals-women-entrepreneurs-financ-e-initiative
women-entrepreneurs-finance-initiative-we-fi

WOMEN AND DRUGS

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Drug use, drug supply and their consequences.
Cocaine and opium production worldwide hit ‘absolute record highs’ – major threat to public health says UN study. The scourge of opium-based drugs and cocaine are a bigger global threat to public health and law enforcement than ever before, according to the latest World Drug Report, released on Tuesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
 

Booklet 5 focuses on the specific issues related to drug use among women, including the social and health consequences of drug use and access to treatment by women with drug use disorders; it also discusses the role played by women in the drug supply chain.

Giant Leak of Offshore Financial Records Exposes Global Array of Crime and Corruption

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The Panama Papers
Millions of documents show heads of state, criminals and celebrities using secret hideaways in tax havens.

A massive leak of documents exposes the offshore holdings of 12 current and former world leaders and reveals how associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies.

The leak also provides details of the hidden financial dealings of 128 more politicians and public officials around the world.

The cache of 11.5 million records shows how a global industry of law firms and big banks sells financial secrecy to politicians, fraudsters and drug traffickers as well as billionaires, celebrities and sports stars.

These are among the findings of a yearlong investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other news organizations….. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Clarity on Financial Crime in Banking

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Not only Switzerland as an international financial center is exposed to huge risks from financial crime. This is increased by outdated transaction monitoring systems, inadequate approaches to Know Your Customer and poorly determined risk appetites…..
Clarity on Financial Crime in Banking/KPMG

The impacts of financial crime on Switzerland’s banks
Financial crime has very real, significant implications for Swiss banks. The impacts are clearly visible when looking at key statistics around notifications and offences.
Clarity on-Financial Crime in Banking/STUDY

 Women Networks Fight Against Corruption and MoneyLaundering

The World’s Largest Tax Haven? Guess Who

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All the Money in the World / James S. Henry*

For decades, the United States has been one of the leading destination havens for wealthy individual offshore investors.

Q: “So where else do you advise clients to set up their offshore companies and trusts?”

A: “We think Delaware is pretty good. They have over a million companies and trusts there, and no beneficial ownership registration. No one can find you.”

—Senior partner, leading Panama law firm, money laundering conference, 2008

By now we (should) all know that global trade wars, as well as imperial wars, can be costly. But the high costs of global tax competition, deregulation wars, and financial secrecy wars have received much less attention. Unfortunately, at current course and speed, such wars may well proliferate. Furthermore, the United States, which has long prided itself on being one of the world’s leading proponents of progressive taxation, multilateral cooperation, and stiff sanctions for white-collar financial crime, is now actually leading this race to the bottom…..The American Interest reports:

The Worlds Largest Tax Haven- Guess Who / James S. Henry

PDF/ The Worlds Largest Tax Haven- Guess Who / James S. Henry

*James S. Henry, a contributing editor, is an investigative economist and lawyer who has written widely about corporate crime, tax havens, kleptocracy, and pirate banking. He is a senior fellow at the Columbia University’s Center on Sustainable Investment, a Global Justice Fellow at Yale, a senior advisor at the Tax Justice Network, and a member of the New York Bar.

Women Networks Fight Against Corruption and MoneyLaundering

Dubai a Money-Laundering Paradise

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A US report says UAE’s capital is a haven
for war-profiteers, financiers of ‘terror’ and drug traffickers.

Aljazeera reports:  With its skyscrapers, luxury villas and a high concentration of millionaires and billionaires, Dubai’s rise to global city and business hub has captured the world’s attention.

It’s one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) an absolute monarchy long ruled by the Al Maktoum family.

The rapid development of the city has made it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

But the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS) has obtained leaked property data from the city-state.

And it has found that those who make money out of wars, who finance “terror”, or are involved in drug trafficking use Dubai’s real estate market as a haven for money laundering.

Dubai real estate market haven for money launderers

Property investigated in US report worth more than $100m in places such as Burj Khalifa and Palm Jumeirah…
Sandcastles by the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies

Dubai has reportedly become a money-laundering paradise

Money Laundering Risks Are Increasing

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The Council of Europe anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing body MONEYVAL has published its General Activity Report for 2017.

Presenting the report to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 30 May, the Chairman of MONEYVAL, Daniel Thelesklaf, pointed out that it is evident that the threats of being exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing are increasing. He also stressed that countless cases of money laundering are being reported by the media and brought to the attention of the general public.

“The lack of transparency of legal entities and trusts persist and international cooperation is still not working as effectively as it should be. We also need to improve information-sharing with the private sector and across borders”, he said.

Moreover, the Chairman underlined the need for more specialised training for investigators and prosecutors and to involve prosecutors at the early stages of investigations.

In 2017 MONEYVAL continued its role as an international global player in the global network of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing bodies and actively monitored 21 jurisdictions through the adoption of mutual evaluation reports, including onsite visits, or follow-up reports.

Daniel Thelesklaf, President of Moneyval : Intervention by the Chair
Chairman´s presentation to the Committee of Ministers. MONEYVAL Annual Report

 

The High Cost of Gender Inequality in Earnings

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The world is losing out to the tune of $23,620 a person by failing to pay women and men equally, according to the World Bank. Gender pay gap costs global economy $160tn, says World Bank study- GenderInequality

Analysis of lifetime earnings across 141 countries suggests failure to reward women and men equally generates huge global loss. A chalkboard line graph featuring male and female figurines demonstrates the gender pay gap.

Gender equality would enrich the global economy by an estimated $160tn (£120tn) if women were earning as much as men in the workplace, a study by the World Bank has found….Theguardian.com

Unrealized Potential: The High Cost of Gender Inequality in Earnings

Rodrigo de Matos
www.w-t-w.org/en/rodrigo-de-matos/

Making the Financial Sector a Powerful Actor in Fighting Climate Change

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Sustainable Finance:
The EU- Commission is today delivering the first concrete actions to enable the EU financial sector to lead the way to a greener and cleaner economy.

Today’s proposals confirm Europe’s commitment to be the global leader in fighting climate change and implement the Paris Agreement. The involvement of the financial sector will greatly boost efforts to reduce our environmental footprint while enhancing the sustainability and competitiveness of the EU economy…Europa.eu/press-release
Report-Sustainable-Finance-EN

Russian ‘Dirty Money’ in London

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Russian money hidden in British assets and laundered through City of London financial institutions damages the government’s efforts to take a tough stance against Moscow’s aggressive foreign policy.

Britain’s financial centre has been a major beneficiary of the massive flight of Russian cash since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, and London remains the Western capital of choice for the oligarchs and Russian officials who flaunt their wealth across Europe’s most luxurious destinations. Russian ‘Dirty Money’ in LondonUndermines National Security, U.K. Lawmakers Warn.

    • The UK Foreign Affairs Committee have proposed measures that could tighten the sanctions regime against Russia and limit “dirty money” flows to London in the interests of “national security”.
    • The proposals, made in a report called “Moscow’s Gold: Russian Corruption in the UK”, called for a sanctions regime that combines the best practices of US and EU sanctions against Russia and would broaden the UK’s financial power in its foreign policy.
    • The Committee said there has been a gap between government rhetoric and action on Russia since the attack on the Skripals which should now be addressed.
    • This comes after the US has piled pressure on the EU to support it’s sanctions regime and warned European companies not to do business with targeted organisations and individuals in Russia.

Influential MP’s have called for measures which could tighten the sanctions regime against Russia and reduce flows of “dirty money” into London. …
Independent.co.UK
Businessinsider.de/UK