DOCSLIB.ORG

Corruption Risks in the United States Eb-5 Immigrant Investor Program Corruption Risks of the Eb-5 Immigration Program

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Corruption Risks in the United States Eb-5 Immigrant Investor Program Corruption Risks of the Eb-5 Immigration Program CORRUPTION RISKS IN THE UNITED STATES EB-5 IMMIGRANT INVESTOR PROGRAM CORRUPTION RISKS OF THE EB-5 IMMIGRATION PROGRAM Corruption Risks of EB-5 Immigration Program for US-based Investors // Authors, project management: Alina Bashirova, Ilya Shumanov, Grigory Mashanov, Gleb Gavrish, Raffaello Loreto. Editing: Georgy Tserkalov Translation: Victor Sonkin, Vasily Sonkin Acknowledgements: the report has been reviewed by the Transparency International’s U.S. Office. ANO "Center for Anti-Corruption Research and Initiatives" "Transparency International – R", 2019. Moscow, 2020 / 5 Table of Contents Executive summary Introduction...............................................................................................................................................6 Methodology..............................................................................................................................................7 Key Findings..............................................................................................................................................8 Conclusions...............................................................................................................................................8 Recommendations....................................................................................................................................9 Part 1. European Union: Heightened scrutiny over investment immigration programs..........................11 Part 2. Areas of high risk for US-based monetary transactions..............................................................14 Part 3. EB-5 program: Green card in exchange for investments.............................................................17 Part 4. Intermediaries in the EB-5 investment program.............................................................................20 Part 5. Targeted Employment Areas.............................................................................................................29 6 / Introduction Introduction / 7 Transparency International Russia (TI-R), the transnational corruption and illicit financial flows. In 2018 and 2019, the EB-5 program helped some receiving such status is roughly four years. Citizens national chapter of the global civil society movement The investments made by Russian nationals into 150 Russian citizens obtain their green cards.2 To of China and India have to wait the longest for EB-5 Transparency International, has examined integrity the US economy for the EB-5 program bear a risk apply for the program, these investors were required green cards – up to 10 years – due to the large risks in the United States (U.S.) EB-5 Immigrant of causing significant economic harm because of to do the following: volume of applications from these countries. Investor Program. We have identified areas that corrupt practices implemented and used by new are open for abuse for corruption concerning business players and money whose origins are 1. Invested at least $500,000 into an existing based On June 27, 2019, the US Office of Management cases of investment by Russian citizens. This work uncertain. in the U.S. project by transferring this money from and Budget issued new rules for the EB-5 contributes to our "Russians in the USA" series. their account to the legal entity’s account (for investment program. This news led to an increased One area of concern with regard to the program’s example, an account created by a commercial interest in the program in the immediate run, The EB-5 program allows foreign citizens to obtain corruption risk is that as Russia experiences capital development company); as participants were eager to invest before an a temporary residence permit and, subsequently, flight from the country, asset stripping of banks, anticipated increase of the minimum investment a permanent resident status (a "green card") and embezzlement of public funds, opportunities 2. Submitted an application for a green card by threshold. in exchange for an investment of $900,000 or arise for criminals to act with impunity abroad. The working with a lawyer to file a Form I-526 petition $1,800,000, depending on the area (the investment economic and political situation in Russia during that confirms the amount has been transferred On July 24, 2019, the new rules were published. amounts were $500,000 or $1,000,000 before the last six years has led to a mass migration from into the project’s account and that funds were of Starting from November 21, 2019, the minimum November 2019).1 The required amount has to the country. The investment program allows people legal origin; the application also asks to provide investment amount increased to $900,000 for high be invested in one or more active projects and with big money to not only migrate and obtain legal proof concerning the legal nature of the sum to unemployment or rural areas (known as a Targeted approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration residence in the US, but also to transfer ill-gotten be invested, confirmation that money has been Employment Area, or TEA) and $1,800,000 for all Service (USCIS). Applicants can transfer money money overseas. transferred into the account of an approved project, other areas. Local authorities are no longer able to either through a designated "regional center" or and proof that ten new jobs have been created. designate any potential area as a TEA this authority directly into a US company. Such migration programs exist in many countries, was transferred exclusively to the Department and they encounter similar problems everywhere: The first green card obtained through the EB-5 of Homeland Security (DHS). In addition, the An EB-5 immigrant investor regional center is an they offer corrupt politicians and fraudsters a program is valid for two years; it is also considered number of areas covered by a single application economic unit, private or public, that manages EB-5 convenient vehicle for money laundering and an a "conditional" green card. Two years later, this has been limited. Census tract combination for investment projects under the purview of USCIS. As opportunity to obtain legal residence elsewhere, status is to be reviewed; to do so, an applicant high-unemployment TEAs is limited to the project of July 2020, there were 771 such USCIS-approved allowing them to skip town, evade law enforcement must file a new petition known as an I-829. This tract(s), plus some or all of the tracts that are centers , operating across the country. or prosecution efforts. All things considered, it is petition includes proof that the money is still "in the "directly adjacent" to the project tract. Regional increasingly recognized that these programs entail project" and that the jobs created by the investment centers previously included a group of tracts around The EB-5 program had been the focus of political substantial security risks for the host country. still exist. If the investor invests in a regional center the construction site in the application, while just discussions that led to amendments to the program project, the center will provide this proof. one of them had a TEA status and often was not in July 2019. This report aims to highlight the The Immigration Act of 1990, enacted by the US attached to the project tract. Petitions filed before persisting flaws of the program and to provide Congress is the governing legislation that addresses For Russian citizens, the average time between November 21, 2019, will be reviewed according to recommendations for improvement. To that end, immigration policy in the country. Among other submitting a petition for a permanent green card to the previously existing rules.3 TI-R has analyzed the program from an anti- things, it established the process for obtaining two- corruption lens. We undertook an evaluation of the year investor visas under the EB-5 program, which corruption and money laundering risks that arise is basically a "green card" for 2 years, a green card Methodology during the principal stages of the program. This for 10 years. report covers the bureaucratic and organizational 1. Data collection and analysis state agencies, companies, regional centers, and shortcomings of the program, the work of Participation in the EB-5 investment program news outlets from March to August 2019. state institutions responsible for its operation, consists of several steps: In 2016, in response to our request for a list of the arguments of the program’s critics, and companies and regional centers accepting EB-5 2. Experiment specific examples taken from case studies of the 1. Choosing a project to invest in and depositing the applications and investments, Transparency participants. required amount; International-Russia received an official response We first contacted regional centers and lawyers from the US Department of Homeland Security. The working on EB-5 claims in 2016 and then again In addition, the researchers studied the specific 2. Сollecting and preparing documents to prove the list contained names of companies, regional centers between March and August 2019. In the course of approaches and practices of EB-5 intermediaries legal nature of the investment, with the assistance of and projects, that have benefited from investments this two-part experiment, we presented ourselves as — immigration lawyers, regional centers and a lawyer; made within this program. From that list then, we prospective investors and narrated a pre-arranged consultation centers. We have also taken a close randomly
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Doing Business in Russia EY Sadovnicheskaya Nab., 77, Bld
    Doing business in Russia EY Sadovnicheskaya nab., 77, bld. 1 115035, Moscow, Russia Paveletskaya Pl., 2, bld. 2 115054, Moscow, Russia Tel: +7 (495) 755 9700 Fax: +7 (495) 755 9701 2 Doing business in Russia Introduction This guide has been prepared by EY Russia to give the potential investor an insight into Russia and its economy and tax system, provide an overview of forms of business and accounting rules and answer questions that frequently arise for foreign businesses. Russia is a fast-developing country and is committed to improving the investment climate and developing a better legal environment for doing business. On the one hand, this makes doing business in Russia an attractive prospect; on the other, it can make for difficult decisions both when starting a business and further down the line. EY provides assurance, tax, legal, strategy, transactions and consulting services in 150 countries and employs over 300,000 professionals across the globe1, including more than 3,500 employees in 9 offices in Russia. EY possesses extensive, in-depth knowledge of Russian realities and is always ready to come to the assistance of first-time and experienced investors alike. This guide contains information current as at March 2021 (except where a later date is specified). You can find more information about doing business in Russia as well as up-to-date information on developments in its legal and tax environment on our website: www.ey.com/ru. 1 Who we are – Builders of a better working world | EY — Global Doing business in Russia 1 2 Doing business
    [Show full text]
  • 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]
  • The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies
    The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies Edited by Daria Gritsenko Mariëlle Wijermars · Mikhail Kopotev The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies Daria Gritsenko Mariëlle Wijermars • Mikhail Kopotev Editors The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies Editors Daria Gritsenko Mariëlle Wijermars University of Helsinki Maastricht University Helsinki, Finland Maastricht, The Netherlands Mikhail Kopotev Higher School of Economics (HSE University) Saint Petersburg, Russia ISBN 978-3-030-42854-9 ISBN 978-3-030-42855-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42855-6 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2021. This book is an open access publication. Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this book are included in the book’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the book’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
    [Show full text]
  • City of Hallandale Beach Economic Development Strategy
    City of Hallandale Beach Economic Development Strategy City of Hallandale Beach Economic Development Strategy - Nov 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1: CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY BRIEF 4 SECTION 2: BACKGROUND TO THE HALLANDALE BEACH MARKET 4 Section 2A: Demographics of Community and Changes over Time 8 Population and Households 8 Age of Population 9 Race and Ethnicity 10 Household Income 12 Section 2B: Comparative Demographics of Hallandale to Surrounding Cities 13 Population 13 Age 14 Race and Ethnicity 14 Household Income 15 Section 2C: Unemployment and Workforce Profile and Projections 16 Section 2D: Hallandale Beach Traffic Counts 18 Section 2E: Market Background Conclusions 19 SECTION 3: PROFILE OF CURENT REAL ESTATE TRENDS AND OUTLOOK 21 Section 3A: Broward County and City of Hallandale Beach – Housing Sales Activity 21 Assessed and Taxable Values 22 Section 3B: Broward Office Market Overview 23 Section 3C: Retail Market Analysis 25 Retail Demand Analysis Section 3D: Industrial Market Overview 30 Section 3E: Tourism/Hospitality Market Overview 33 Section 3F: Real Estate Conclusions 35 2 City of Hallandale Beach Economic Development Strategy - Nov 2011 SECTION 4: FOCUSING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS 36 Section 4A: Leverage Hallandale Beach’s Strength for Future Development 36 Section 4B: Developable Nodes/Parcels 39 Section 4C: Recommended Development Focus 41 SECTION 5: THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH’S ROLE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 43 Section 5A: Target Industries/Principal Land Uses 43 Section 5B: Economic
    [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]
  • 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]
  • Annual Report 2018 ABOUT THIS REPORT 02
    AnnuAl RepoRt 2018 ABOUT THIS REPORT 02 1 / 2 ABOUT THIS REPORT Approach to the Report Boundaries of the Report Approval of the Report This Annual Report of Sberbank of Russia ¹ for 2018 (the “Report”) The financial data are presented in the Report Information on sustainable development is consoli- This Report received preliminary approv- in accordance with the IFRS consolidated financial dated by the major participants of the Group, which al by the Supervisory Board of Sberbank includes the performance results of Sberbank and its subsidiaries ² statements, unless otherwise specified in the text of have a significant impact on their regions of pres- (Minutes No. 11 of April 16, 2019). for the reporting period from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018. the Report. ence, and Sberbank Corporate University. The reliability of the data in the Report was con- Operational data are presented for PJSC Sberbank firmed by the Audit Committee of Sberbank. unless otherwise specified in the text of the Report. The Report has been prepared in accordance with In addition, the contents of the Report The Report was approved by the Annual General the legislation of the Russian Federation, including: comply with the following documents: Shareholder Meeting of Sberbank as of May 24, 2019 (Minutes No 32 as of May 29, 2019). ♦ Federal Law No. 39-FZ “On the Securities ♦ Requirements of the Moscow Stock The term “Group” as used in the sections “People: Nurturing New Skills in Effective Teams” Market” dated April 22,1996; Exchange on the preparation of annu- and “Impact on Society” includes Sberbank Corporate University and the following: al reports by joint stock companies; ♦ Federal Law No.
    [Show full text]
  • Improving the EB-5 Investor Visa Program: International Financing for U.S
    BROOKINGS-ROCKEFELLER Project on State and Metropolitan Innovation Improving the EB-5 Investor Visa Program: International Financing for U.S. Regional Economic Development Audrey Singer and Camille Galdes1 “ A reconsideration Summary of the EB-5 Difficulties in accessing traditional domestic financing brought on by the Great Recession, along with a rise in the number of wealthy investors in developing countries, have led to a recent regional center spike in interest in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor visa program. Through this federal visa program administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), immigrant investors may program can eventually secure permanent residency for themselves and their immediate family by investing at least $500,000 in a U.S. business and creating or preserving 10 full-time jobs. The majority of strengthen its EB-5 visas are currently administered through EB-5 regional centers, entities that pool invest- ments and are authorized to develop projects across a large swath of America’s metropolitan utility and better regions and rural areas. The focus of this paper is on the regional center program. Although utilization of EB-5 financing has increased dramatically in recent years as a source accomplish its of regional economic development, the program faces some major challenges. First, immigrant investors encounter a complicated network of intermediaries with little regulatory oversight, central goal of which discourages investment. Immigrants also bear the burden of compliance with program requirements, although they themselves have little control over the investment process. Second, aiding regional there is generally little coordination between regional centers and local economic development agencies (EDAs), even though these entities often share similar goals and could develop mutu- economic ally beneficial partnerships.
    [Show full text]
  • NOT for DISTRIBUTION in OR INTO the UNITED STATES EXCEPT to QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS (“Qibs”) AS DEFINED in RULE 144A (“RULE 144A”) UNDER the U.S
    IMPORTANT NOTICE: NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES EXCEPT TO QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS (“QIBs”) AS DEFINED IN RULE 144A (“RULE 144A”) UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), THAT ARE ALSO QUALIFIED PURCHASERS (“QPs”) WITHIN THE MEANING OF SECTION 2(A)(51) OF THE U.S. INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 (THE “INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT”) OR OTHERWISE TO PERSONS TO WHOM IT CAN LAWFULLY BE DISTRIBUTED. IMPORTANT: You must read the following before continuing. The following applies to the attached prospectus (the “Prospectus”), and you are therefore advised to read this carefully before reading, accessing or making any other use of the Prospectus. In accessing the Prospectus, you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions, including any modifications to them any time you receive any information from us as a result of such access. If you have gained access to this transmission contrary to any of the following restrictions, you are not authorised and will not be able to purchase any of the securities described in the Prospectus (the “Securities”). You acknowledge that this electronic transmission and the delivery of the Prospectus is intended for you only and you agree you will not forward this electronic transmission or the Prospectus to any other person. Any forwarding, distribution or reproduction of this document in whole or in part is unauthorised. Failure to comply with the following directives may result in a violation of the Securities Act or the applicable laws of other jurisdictions. NOTHING IN THIS ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION CONSTITUTES AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DO SO.
    [Show full text]
  • Activities on National Standardization of Geographical Names in Russia in 2015 – 2016
    Activities on national standardization of geographical names in Russia in 2015 – 2016 Marina Morozova Head of Division on Geographical Names The 18th Meeting of the Baltic Division of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) Sankt-Peterburg, August 23 – 25, 2016 Activities on national standardization of geographical names in Russia in 2015 – 2016 Legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of geographical names National institutions working in the field of standardization of geographical names •The Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosreestr) is the federal executive authority in the field of names of geographical objects, as well as a body exercising federal state supervision in the field of geodesy and cartography. •The Ministry of Economic Development is imposed with a responsibility to establish and implement the state policy as well as normative and legal regulation of geodesy and cartography. • Rosreestr develops and maintains the State Catalogue of Geographical Names, implements standardization of geographical names in Russian, prepares expert reports for proposals on naming and renaming of geographical objects, and ensures compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation on names of geographical objects. • It operates directly and through its territorial bodies and subordinate organizations in cooperation with the other federal executive authorities, executive authorities of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, bodies of local self-government, public associations and other organizations. • Rosreestr generally communicates with: the Russian Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Finance; Russian Academy of Sciences and its subordinate institutions, including the Institute for Linguistic Studies (St.
    [Show full text]
  • 3D Cadastre Modelling in Russia”
    Russian-Dutch Project “3D Cadastre Modelling in Russia” Galina ELIZAROVA, Sergey SAPELNIKOV, Natalia VANDYSHEVA, Sergey PAKHOMOV, Russian Federation, Peter VAN OOSTEROM, Marian DE VRIES, Jantien STOTER, Hendrik PLOEGER, Boudewijn SPIERING, Rik WOUTERS, Andreas HOOGEVEEN, The Netherlands, and Veliko PENKOV, Bulgaria Key words: 3D cadastre, multilevel complex buildings, subsurface, 3D viewer, pilot SUMMARY This paper presents results of the Russian-Dutch project on 3D cadastre modelling in the Russian Federation. The purpose of the project was to assess added value of a 3D cadastre for better registration and recording of (rights regarding) multilevel complex buildings and constructions, and subsurface networks such as gas pipelines. The project included prototype development and a pilot with use cases selected in Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhegorodskaya Oblast. Experts from Rosreestr (Russian Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography) central and local offices, cadastral chambers, technical inventory offices and cadastral engineers participated in the pilot. The pilot was evaluated based on a structured questionnaire, with topics organised in various categories: general, legal aspects, spatial aspects, information dissemination aspects, etc. The pilot was conducted after the completion of the design of a 3D cadastral model (ISO FDIS 19152, LADM based) and the development of a web-based prototype for 3D cadastral visualisation. The prototype consists of a 3D viewer that shows the cadastral objects in 3D space, and permits to make selections on e.g. cadastral number, name of the owner, number of rooms etc. The 3D cadastre 'investigation project' in the Russian Federation ended in July 2012. Based on the positive experiences from the project in general and the pilot in specific, recommendations for the future introduction of 3D cadastre have been formulated, including improvements in the Russian legal framework and the organisation of 3D cadastre.
    [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]