DOCSLIB.ORG

Tax Games: the Race to the Bottom

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Tax Games: the Race to the Bottom Tax Games: the Race to the Bottom Europe's role in supporting an unjust global tax system 2 017 This report is dedicated to the memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia – a courageous journalist and researcher who dared to speak truth to power. Her extensive investigations into the Panama Papers and numerous other sources exposed high-level corruption in Malta. Daphne was killed in a car bomb attack near her home in Bidnija, Malta on 16 October 2017. Acknowledgements This report was produced by civil society organisations in countries across Europe, including: Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC) (Austria); 11.11.11 (Belgium); Centre national de cooperation au développement (CNCD-11.11.11) (Belgium); Glopolis (Czech Republic); Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke – ActionAid Denmark (Denmark); KEPA (Finland); Netzwerk Steuergerechtigkeit (Germany); DemNet Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights (Hungary); Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) (Ireland); Oxfam Italy (Italy); Re:Common (Italy); Latvijas platforma attīstības sadarbībai (Lapas) (Latvia); the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) (Netherlands); Tax Justice Netherlands (Netherlands); Tax Justice Network Norway (Norway); Instytut Globalnej Odpowiedzialności (IGO) (Poland); International Centre for Research and Analysis (ICRA) (Poland); Ekvilib Institute (Slovenia); Oxfam Intermón (Spain); Diakonia (Sweden); Tax Justice UK (UK). The overall report was coordinated by Eurodad. Each national chapter was written by – and is the responsibility of – the nationally-based partners in the project, and does not reflect the views of the rest of the project partners. The chapter on Luxembourg was written by – and is the responsibility of – Eurodad. Design and artwork: James Adams Copy editing: Stephanie Ross and Vicky Anning The authors believe that all of the details of this report are factually accurate as of 8 November 2017. This report has been produced with the financial assistance of Norad and Open Society Foundations. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and the authors of the report, and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the funders. Contents Acknowledgements 3 Specific findings 53 Contents 4 Methodology for country rating system 54 Glossary 5 Austria 67 Executive summary 8 Belgium 71 1. Introduction 12 Czech Republic 75 2. The race to the bottom 13 Denmark 79 3. Corporate tax avoidance 17 Finland 83 4. Potentially harmful tax practices 21 Germany 87 5. Good and bad solutions 30 Hungary 91 6. Recommendations 51 Ireland 94 Italy 99 Latvia 103 Luxembourg 106 The Netherlands 110 Norway 116 Poland 119 Slovenia 122 Spain 125 Sweden 129 United Kingdom 133 4 • Tax Games: the Race to the Bottom Glossary Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) / Advance Tax Agreement Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules See under ’Tax ruling’. CFC rules allow countries to limit profit shifting by multinational corporations by requesting that the Aggressive tax planning corporation reports on profits made in other jurisdictions See under ‘Tax avoidance’. where it ‘controls’ another corporate structure. There are Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD) many different types of CFC rules, with different definitions A European Union (EU) directive regulating issues related of which kind of jurisdictions and incomes are covered. to money laundering and terrorist financing, including General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) public access to information about the beneficial owners GAAR refers to a broad set of different types of rules aimed of companies, trusts and similar legal structures. The 4th at limiting tax avoidance by multinational corporations in AMLD was adopted in May 2015, and it is expected that a 5th cases where abuse of tax rules has been detected. When AMLD will be adopted during 2017. used in tax treaties, GAARs can in some cases be used to Automatic Exchange of Information prevent tax avoidance by allowing tax administrations to A system whereby relevant information about the wealth deny multinational corporations tax exemptions, but they do and income of a taxpayer – individual or company – is not address the general problem of lowering of withholding automatically passed by the country where the funds are taxes through tax treaties, nor do they address the general held to the taxpayer’s country of residence. As a result, the division of taxing rights between nations. tax authority of a taxpayer’s country of residence can check Harmful tax practices its tax records to verify that the taxpayer has accurately Harmful tax practices are policies that have negative spill- reported their foreign source income and wealth. over effects on taxation in other countries, for example, by Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) eroding tax bases or distorting investments. This term is used to describe the shifting of taxable profits Illicit financial flows out of countries where the income was earned, usually to There are several definitions of illicit financial flows. It can zero- or low-tax countries, which results in ‘erosion’ of the refer to unrecorded private financial outflows involving capital tax base of the countries affected, and therefore reduces that is illegally earned, transferred or utilised. In a broader their revenues. sense, illicit financial flows can also be used to describe Beneficial ownership revenue losses as the result of artificial arrangements that A legal term used to describe anyone who has the benefit have been put in place with the purpose of circumventing the of ownership of an asset (for example, bank account, trust, law or its spirit, such as aggressive tax planning. property). In some cases, the beneficial owner does not Laundromat scandal nominally own the asset because it is registered under The Laundromat scandal first surfaced in 2014, but received another name. renewed attention in 2017, when the Organized Crime and Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published a series of CCCTB is a proposal that was first launched by the European articles on a large-scale money laundering operation. The Commission in 2011. It entails a common EU system for scheme operated from 2010-2014, and allegedly brought at calculating the taxable profits of multinational corporations least US$20 billion out of Russia and into banks around the operating in the EU, and dividing this among the EU world. According to the media reports, the money laundering member states based on a formula to assess the level of in many cases involved shell companies registered in the business activity in each country. The proposal does not UK with nominee directors concealing the real owner (see specify what tax rate the member states should apply to ‘Beneficial owner’ above). A core method in the scheme was the taxable profits, but simply allocates it and leaves it to for Russian ownership to guarantee large fake loans between the member state to decide what tax to apply. The proposal two shell companies. When one shell company failed to repay was redrafted and relaunched in 2016 (see chapter 5.2 on ‘A the fake debt to the other, the loan would get authenticated by coherent system for taxing multinationals’), and is currently judges in Moldova, at which point the Russian company would being negotiated by the EU member states. be able to transfer money out of Russia under the pretence of covering unpaid debt. The scandal has among other things Conduit-offshore financial centre led to money laundering charges against a number of judges See ‘Offshore jurisdictions or centres’. in Moldova for their alleged involvement in the scheme. It has also led to criticism of a number of international banks for their failure to detect suspicious transactions. Tax Games: the Race to the Bottom • 5 Glossary LuxLeaks Panama Papers The LuxLeaks (or Luxembourg Leaks) scandal surfaced The Panama Papers scandal broke in April 2016 when the in November 2014 when the International Consortium of International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) exposed several hundred exposed hidden wealth and financial activities of political secret tax rulings from Luxembourg, which had been leaked leaders, drug traffickers, celebrities, billionaires, and others. by former employees of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The core of the scandal was 11.5 million leaked files from The LuxLeaks dossier allegedly documented how hundreds the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which revealed of multinational corporations were using the system in information about more than 214,000 secret companies Luxembourg to lower their tax rates, in some cases to less hidden in 21 different offshore jurisdictions. These companies than one per cent. were linked to individuals in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The scandal allegedly revealed that Malta Files secret companies had, among other things, been used for tax In 2017, the network of European Investigative evasion, corruption, fraud and money laundering. Collaborations (EIC) published a series of articles based on hundreds of thousands of documents, including details Paradise Papers about over 70,000 companies registered in Malta’s public The Paradise Papers scandal broke on 5 November 2017 company register. The investigation allegedly showed that when the ICIJ once again exposed the hidden world of tax Malta operates as a hub for corporate tax avoidance inside havens. The leak had ties to over 120 politicians and world
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Duška Knežević-Hočevar ZRC-SAZU, Ljubljana Introduction the Mid-19Th Century Historical Debates on the Political Inception O
    VANISHING NATION:DISCUSSING NATION’S REPRODUCTION IN POST-SOCIALIST SLOVENIA Duška Knežević-Hočevar ZRC-SAZU, Ljubljana © 2004 Duška Knežević-Hočevar All Rights Reserved The copyright for individual articles in both the print and online version of the Anthropology of East Europe Review are retained by the individual authors. They reserve all rights other than those stated here. Please contact the managing editor for details on contacting these authors. Permission is granted for reproducing these articles for scholarly and classroom use as long as only the cost of reproduction is charged to the students. Commercial reproduction of these articles requires the permission of the authors. Introduction discussions on nationalism as a political philosophy and it referred to a people with The mid-19th century historical debates on the shared linguistic, cultural, historical political inception of the Slovenian nation experience, material conditions, and descent; featured numerical “smallness”1 as the most organic ties to peoples’ territory and indicative characteristic of the Slovenian environment were considered peoples’ natural population. Despite many other attributes, rights to such places (Kreager 1997: 155). mostly described as “favorable” – e.g. cultural The imperative that such “natural wholes” had and religious homogeneity, language to be “home-produced” (Kreager 1997: 156) uniformity – the early builders of the national and re-produced is also characteristic for post- discourse understood this smallness as a socialist rhetoric on production
    [Show full text]
  • Religion in Danish Newspapers 1750–2018
    Continuity with the Past and Uncertainty for the Future: Religion in Danish Newspapers 1750–2018 HENRIK REINTOFT CHRISTENSEN Aarhus University Abstract The article examines the newspaper constructions of religion in Danish newspapers in a quantitative longitudinal analysis from 1750 to 2000 and a more qualitative analysis of recent news production from the last forty years. For the longitudinal part, the database of the digitiza- tion of Danish newspapers project is used. Using the available tools for quantitative data analysis, the article shows that the category of religion and world religions has been visible in Danish newspapers since 1750. The coverage of world religions is often related to the coverage of international news. Overall, the article documents a re- markable continuity of the presence of religion. Examining the more recent material qualitatively, the article shows that although many religions have been historically visible in the news, they have most recently become more frequent in the debate sections than in the news sections. It is primarily Islam that is debated. This is connected with a shift from religious diversity as part of foreign news coverage to domestic news coverage, related to changes in the surrounding Danish society. Nevertheless, the coverage of Islam also displays a remarkable continuity. Keywords: Danish newspapers, coverage of religion, secularization, reli- gious diversity The oriental question is one of today’s most pertinent questions. While some rejoice at the possible fulfilment of the probably quite reasonable wish to see the end of Turkish barbarism in Europe, others hope that this is a con- firmation of Islam’s impotence and the beginning of the eradication and disappearance of Islam from this world.
    [Show full text]
  • [En] Digital News Start-Ups in Spain: Symbolic and Social Capital As Drivers of Success1
    ARTÍCULOS Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico ISSN-e: 1988-2696 http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/ESMP.63736 [en] Digital news start-ups in Spain: symbolic and social capital as drivers of success1 Terese Mendiguren Galdospin2; Irati Agirreazkuenaga Onaindia3; Koldo Meso Ayerdi4 Received: January 17, 2018 / Accepted: June 19, 2018 Abstract. Ongoing downsizing in the media sector has sparked a new start-up culture in the field of journalism. Over the past few years an increasing number of news organizations seeking to leverage social and symbolic rather than financial capital and cultivate employee as well as audience loyalty have entered the market (Wagemans, Witschge and Deuze, 2016). This paper examines El Diario (eldiario.es) and El Confidencial (elconfidencial.com). Qualitative methods involving the on-site observation in their newsrooms and semi-structured interviews with their journalists were employed. Findings indicate that both see themselves as alternative news providers whose emphasis El Diario draws heavily upon the symbolic capital of its founder Ignacio Escolar, El Confidencial, has banked primarily on its social capital. Keywords: Start-up; digital journalism; innovation. Startups digitales en España: el capital simbólico y social como factor de éxito Resumen. La crisis en el sector de los medios de comunicación ha propiciado la emergencia de nuevos modelos periodísticos. En los últimos años ha surgido en el sistema mediático un número cada vez mayor de proyectos que buscan aprovechar el capital social y simbólico, y cultivar la lealtad tanto de los empleados como de la audiencia (Wagemans, Witschge y Deuze, 2016). Este artículo analiza El Diario (eldiario.es) y El Confidencial (elconfidencial.com).
    [Show full text]
  • A Croatian Study of Practitioners' and Kindergarten Teacher Students
    c e p s Journal | Vol.3 | No2 | Year 2013 51 A Croatian Study of Practitioners’ and Kindergarten Teacher Students’ Opinions of their Role in Children’s Lives Renata Miljević-Riđički1, Tea Pahić*2 and Marija Šarić3 • In the project Methods and Models in the Education of Preschool Chil- dren in Kindergartens conducted at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Zagreb, we were interested in practitioners’ and kindergarten teacher students’ opinions, motivation, satisfaction, expectations and attitudes with regard to their work. Two open-ended questions regarding the role of the kindergarten teacher in children’s lives, were set as a separate mini-questionnaire. For the purposes of this particular study, practi- tioners (N=69) and first-year university kindergarten teacher students (N=65) had to complete two sentences: “Children are like…because …” and “Kindergarten teachers are like… because…”. Their responses were content analysed and then compared. Analysis shows that both students and kindergarten teachers perceive children in a very positive way and evaluate their job as highly valuable. They also highly value their role in children’s lives (as another parent, teacher, helper, model, safe haven, etc.). The most significant difference between practising teachers and students is their perception of working conditions, where students show a more idealistic approach. Keywords: Kindergarten teachers; Kindergarten teacher students; Perception of children; Perception of the kindergarten teacher’s role 1 Faculty of Teacher Education, Zagreb, Croatia 2 *Corresponding author. Faculty of Teacher Education, Zagreb, Croatia [email protected] 3 Faculty of Teacher Education, Zagreb, Croatia 52 a croatian study of practitioners’ and kindergarten teacher students’ ..
    [Show full text]
  • Danske Bank A/S
    DANSKE BANK A/S AGM ON 18 MARCH 2019 - 10 REASONS TO VOTE FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION Danske Bank A/S 10 reasons to vote for an independent investigation On 4 February 2019, Deminor submitted a motion to have an independent investigator appointed by the shareholders at Danske Bank’s AGM on 18 March 2019. This motion is item 12 on the agenda of the AGM. The purpose of this independent investigation is to ensure that shareholders become aware of the identity of the persons who allowed vast sums of money to be laundered through Danske Bank over the years. Those ultimately responsible at the bank should be identified and held to account. Danske Bank has indicated in the response to the motion that it “does not believe that any further investigations are required” because the Danish law firm Bruun & Hjejle already investigated the matter sufficiently. This reply does little to solve the issue that the report was biased i.a. because the Danish law firm admitted in its very own words that it was “neither impartial nor independent”. See item 3 below for further explanation. 2 Danske Bank A/S 10 reasons to vote for an independent investigation We invite you to support this motion for these 10 key reasons: 1. Money laundering is not a victimless crime. Money laundering is a financial transaction scheme that aims to conceal the identity, source, and destination of illicitly-obtained money 1. In other words, it is the process of making illegal- ly-gained proceeds (i.e., “dirty money”) appear legal (i.e., “clean”) 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Following the Money: Lessons from the Panama Papers Part 1
    ARTICLE 3.4 - TRAUTMAN (DO NOT DELETE) 5/14/2017 6:57 AM Following the Money: Lessons from the Panama Papers Part 1: Tip of the Iceberg Lawrence J. Trautman* ABSTRACT Widely known as the “Panama Papers,” the world’s largest whistleblower case to date consists of 11.5 million documents and involves a year-long effort by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to expose a global pattern of crime and corruption where millions of documents capture heads of state, criminals, and celebrities using secret hideaways in tax havens. Involving the scrutiny of over 400 journalists worldwide, these documents reveal the offshore holdings of at least hundreds of politicians and public officials in over 200 countries. Since these disclosures became public, national security implications already include abrupt regime change and probable future political instability. It appears likely that important revelations obtained from these data will continue to be forthcoming for years to come. Presented here is Part 1 of what may ultimately constitute numerous- installment coverage of this important inquiry into the illicit wealth derived from bribery, corruption, and tax evasion. This article proceeds as follows. First, disclosures regarding the treasure trove of documents * BA, The American University; MBA, The George Washington University; JD, Oklahoma City Univ. School of Law. Mr. Trautman is Assistant Professor of Business Law and Ethics at Western Carolina University, and a past president of the New York and Metropolitan Washington/Baltimore Chapters of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He may be contacted at [email protected]. The author wishes to extend thanks to those at the Winter Conference of the Anti-Corruption Law Interest Group (ASIL) in Miami, January 13–14, 2017 who provided constructive comments to the manuscript, in particular: Eva Anderson; Bruce Bean; Ashleigh Buckett; Anita Cava; Shirleen Chin; Stuart H.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Kleptocracy: Laundering Cash, Whitewashing Reputations
    The Rise of Kleptocracy: Laundering Cash, Whitewashing Reputations Alexander Cooley, John Heathershaw, J.C. Sharman Journal of Democracy, Volume 29, Number 1, January 2018, pp. 39-53 (Article) Published by Johns Hopkins University Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2018.0003 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/683634 Access provided at 13 Jun 2019 01:42 GMT from Griffith University The Rise of Kleptocracy LAUNDERING CASH, WHITEWASHING REPUTATIONS Alexander Cooley, John Heathershaw, and J.C. Sharman Alexander Cooley is director of the Harriman Institute at Columbia University and Claire Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College. John Heathershaw is associate professor of international re- lations at the University of Exeter. J.C. Sharman is Sir Patrick Sheehy Professor of International Relations at the University of Cambridge. Kleptocracy and grand corruption are now under scrutiny as never be- fore. With renewed global attention on these abuses, a relatively clear picture has emerged of the domestic political economies shaped by klep- tocratic rule. Analysts have shown how state institutions are set up to allow elites and their families to systematically loot, while protecting these elites politically. In particular, this research has placed under the microscope the resource-rich countries that are vulnerable to kleptocrat- ic state capture. Yet to understand the operations of today’s jet-setting kleptocrats, one must look beyond the borders of the polities they despoil. Copi- ous news items feature kleptocrats and their families purchasing luxu- rious penthouses and cars; attending international cultural galas and charitable initiatives; and enlisting Western agents, lawyers, spokes- people, and pillars of the establishment to whitewash their reputations.
    [Show full text]
  • Canadian Entities Involved in Global Laundromat Style Company Formations Background United Kingdom Legal Entities Have Long Been at the Heart of Known Laundromats
    Canadian entities involved in global laundromat style company formations Background United Kingdom legal entities have long been at the heart of known laundromats. For example, the Proxy Platform, the Russian Laundromat, the Azerbaijani Laundromat and the Danske Bank scandal have all had a significant UK legal entity presence. These are primarily Limited Liability and Scottish Limited Partnerships but, to a lesser degree, private limited companies are also employed. These entities bear certain hallmarks which help to typify their activity, and which are explainable in terms of that activity. They are believed to be utilised for a number of reasons. 1. The UK has a mature online creation and filing service so remote access is easy and encouraged 2. The costs are low in order to encourage entrepreneurial activity in the UK economy 3. The UK is seen as a safe and prestigious location which provides a sense of security and assurance to banks who create bank accounts on their behalf. Hallmarks of a UK Laundromat entity Because the UK has a transparent corporate registry, it is possible to obtain significant levels of details about both entities that have been identified within Laundromats and those which bear the same or similar characteristics. Taking each entity in turn, they are: Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) • Large numbers registered at the same, virtual address • The use of corporate “designated members” resident in offshore or secrecy locations • Failing to declare a “person with significant control” or, when they do, it is either
    [Show full text]
  • 1. Volcic and Erjavec
    GMJ: Mediterranean Edition 7(2) Fall 2012 1 A Continuous Battle: Relationships between Journalists and Politicians in Slovenia Zala Volcic Karmen Erjavec Abstract This article deals with the relationship between journalists and politicians in post-socialist Slovenia, where journalists report increasing political pressures from editors, management and politicians. If socialism supported, even required, an intimate connection between party leaders and journalists, what are some “new” expectations that state or party officials have from journalists? Moreover, what is the self-professed role of journalists in the process of a democratic transition, and what “new” journalistic values are being adopted and challenged the most? On the basis of media political economy and 51 in-depth interviews (30 journalists and 21 politicians) we argue that there is a complex and multilayered relationship being formed between Slovene journalists and politicians. The Slovene case study can tell us more about the troublesome relationship between political- economic elites and journalists in the transition to democracy in a new country that has only recently become a nation-state. Keywords: Eastern Europe, journalism, socialism, politics, Western media model Introduction In June 2011, the former-Yugoslav republic of Slovenia celebrated its 20th anniversary of independence. During the time of its independence, the Slovene political and economic systems were dramatically transformed – along with the regulatory regime of the media. However, as most local scholars argue, while the media significantly contributed to the collapse of socialism, and to the building of democracy, they rarely established themselves as independent forces – as a genuine “fourth estate” (Basic Hrvatin, 2011; Splichal, 2008). Some scholars blame journalists for negatively framing politics, and for contributing to decreasing levels of political engagement (Erjavec and Poler, 2010).
    [Show full text]
  • Preventing Extremism and Radicalization, In- Whereas Today the Frontline Staff Ask for Assistance.51 Cluding a Focus on Preventing the More Social Aspects
    Retsudvalget 2015-16 REU Alm.del Bilag 248 Offentligt DIIS REPORT 2015: 15 An Introduction to THE DANISH APPROACH TO COUNTERING AND PREVENTING EXTREMISM AND RADICALIZATION THE DANISH APPROACH TO COUNTERING AND PREVENTING EXTREMISM AND RADICALISATION Contents Abstract 5 Introduction 6 Background 10 Structural arrangements and ideological foundations 14 Main elements and actors 22 The General level 24 The specific level 26 The Targeted level 27 Info-houses bringing together police and municipalities 27 The Centre for Prevention of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service 29 The Ministry of Immigration, Integration and Housing, and the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration 30 The Danish Prison and Probation Service 30 Municipalities 31 Cooperation networks 33 Expansion 33 Dilemmas, challenges and criticisms 34 This report is written by Ann-Sophie Hemmingsen and published by DIIS. Fundamental criticism 36 Ann-Sophie Hemmingsen, Ph.D., is a researcher at DIIS. Political criticism 38 The risk of creating self-fulfilling prophecies 39 DIIS · Danish Institute for International Studies Lack of consensus, clear definitions and evaluations 40 Østbanegade 117, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark Practical challenges 42 Tel: +45 32 69 87 87 Civil society 44 E-mail: [email protected] www.diis.dk Notes 47 Literature 50 Layout: Mark Gry Christiansen Printed in Denmark by Eurographic Danmark ISBN 978-87-7605-771-8 (print) ISBN 978-87-7605-770-1 (pdf) All DIIS publications are available for free on DIIS.DK ©Copenhagen 2015, the author and DIIS THE DANISH APPROACH TO COUNTERING AND PREVENTING EXTREMISM AND RADICALISATION 3 ABSTRACT Preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization is increasingly gain- ing momentum as a supplement to more traditional counterterrorism activities in the efforts to protect societies against terrorism.
    [Show full text]
  • European Court of Human Rights Intervention in Szurovecz V
    EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS INTERVENTION IN SZUROVECZ V. HUNGARY (APPLICATION NO. 15428/16) Introduction 1. These written comments are made on behalf of the Media Legal Defence Initiative, Index on Censorship, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, European Publishers Council, PEN International, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Dutch Association of Journalists, and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (the “Interveners”).1 2. The value of investigative reporting in a democracy cannot be overstated. It gives publicity to matters that would otherwise go unexposed. It informs members of the public about places or practices that have a significant impact on society, but are otherwise inaccessible or unknown to them. As has been observed on numerous occasions “[s]unlight is said to be the best of disinfectants”.2 In recent years, investigative reporters have exposed mass state surveillance,3 tax evasion by the global elite,4 instances of modern slavery,5 the plight of refugees in detention centres,6 animal cruelty,7and sexual abuse in religious institutions.8 A key component of effective investigative reporting is physical access to locations. Physical access enables journalists to understand the context in which stories are taking place and to observe directly the conditions and conduct in such locations. There are many recent examples of journalists successfully exposing matters of 1 These written comments are submitted pursuant to Rule 44(3) of the Rules of Court of 1 January 2016, following permission granted by the President of the Fourth Section of the European Court of Human Rights (the "ECHR") in a letter dated 12 September 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • Using Corrupt Practices As Foreign Policy Tools
    CORRUPTION AS STATECRAFT Using Corrupt Practices as Foreign Policy Tools Transparency International (TI) is the world’s leading non-governmental anti-corruption organisation, addressing corruption and corruption risk in its many forms through a network of more than 100 national chapters worldwide. Transparency International Defence and Security (TI-DS) works to reduce corruption in defence and security worldwide. Author: Dr Karolina MacLachlan Research provided by: Nikolai Topalov Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, Armenia Transparency International Bosnia & Herzegovina Editors: Katherine Dixon, Leah Wawro, Deirdre Mahony With thanks for feedback and assistance to: Transparency International EU N-OST Public Eye This report was funded by Open Society European Policy Institute as well as UK aid from the UK government. © 2019 Transparency International. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in parts is permitted, providing that full credit is given to Transparency International and provided that any such reproduction, in whole or in parts, is not sold or incorporated in works that are sold. Written permission must be sought from Transparency International if any such reproduction would adapt or modify the original content. Published July 2019. Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this report. All information was believed to be correct as of February 2019. Nevertheless, Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of its use for other purposes
    [Show full text]