Assad’s uncle ‘Butcher of Hama’ to stand trial on graft charges in France The uncle of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad is to stand trial in France on charges of building up a big property empire in the country using funds from Syrian state coffers, legal sources said on Wednesday. An investigating… – Continue reading
Kurdish business owners in Syria pay taxes to both government and Kurdish administration. QAMILSHI – Many Kurds in Syria may dream of self-rule, but for business owners in the semi-autonomous region in the country’s north, it now comes with a painful pinch: double taxes. For several months, traders in the… – Continue reading
The Bahamian financial services industry “will do all we can” to ensure this nation does not appear on a threatened European Union (EU) ‘blacklist’, Tribune Business was told yesterday. Tanya McCartney, the Bahamas Financial Services Board’s (BFSB) chief executive, said this nation’s implementation of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for… – Continue reading
President Barack Obama is heading to Cuba next week. When Air Force One lands on that island nation on March 20, Obama will become the first U.S. commander in chief to visit Cuba in 88 years. In advance of that historic visit, which the administration hopes will eventually lead to… – Continue reading
The Protocol amending the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters will lead to substantially more transnational identity theft, crime, industrial espionage, financial fraud, and the suppression of political opponents and religious or ethnic minorities by authoritarian and corrupt governments. It puts Americans’ private financial information at risk…. – Continue reading
Caribbean nations have long served as tax havens for the world’s economic elite, with many offering so-called economic citizenship where, for large payments, one can simply buy citizenship in their countries. That can save the 1 percent a pretty penny. Overseas tax evasion costs the U.S. government as much as… – Continue reading
Amid all the diplomatic comings and goings on Syria and how to tackle Islamic State, an important but little-noticed high-level gathering has been taking place in London. The Overseas Territories were holding the fourth meeting of their Joint Ministerial Council at Lancaster House. Leaders from Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands,… – Continue reading
City watchdogs say Barclays adopted a no-questions-asked policy Bank did not check where ultra-wealthy clients’ money came from £72million fine has been imposed on the bank for turning a blind eye Barclays has been shamed over a murky £1.9billion deal with ultra-wealthy clients which left the country vulnerable to financial… – Continue reading
Deutsche Bank AG’s Swiss unit agreed to pay $31 million to receive a non-prosecution agreement in a U.S. probe of banks in Switzerland that helped Americans evade taxes. The accord announced Tuesday by the Justice Department is the third-largest of 57 reached this year with Swiss banks. The firms, which… – Continue reading
On 18 June 2013, the Progressive led government issued a press release titled, “Cayman’s Action Plan Includes Beneficial Ownership”. The press statement came on the heels of the UK taking over the Presidency of G8, at the 17-18 June 2013 G8 Summit in Northern Ireland. The most interesting part of… – Continue reading
President Park Geun-hye called Monday for a careful adjustment of monetary policies of advanced countries amid lingering worries over a potential Fed rate hike. Last month, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates at near zero due to global headwinds but suggested that it could raise rates by the end… – Continue reading
* G20 leaders say they will deliver on vow to lift global growth * G20 promise not to surprise markets with policy decisions * World leaders agree to tackle tax dodgers, pledge to cooperate on migrants (Adds details, background) BELEK, Turkey, Nov 15 The heads of the world’s 20 largest… – Continue reading
Leaders of world’s major economies gather in Turkish city of Antalya Leaders of the world’s major economies gather in the Turkish city of Antalya this weekend for the tenth annual G20 summit. The summit takes place at a sensitive moment in international affairs. The war in Syria and the resulting… – Continue reading
The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for its members’ international economic cooperation and decision-making. Its membership comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and together they represent 85% of global Gross Domestic Product. The 2015 G20 Summit will be held in Turkey for the first time and… – Continue reading
Macky Sall, the Senegalese president, tells journalists on the sidelines of the Malta migrants summit that Africa would have no need of handouts if wealthy governments stopped multinationals avoiding legitimate taxation in their countries African leaders have rejected a European Union bid to curb migration with aid payments as “not… – Continue reading
G20 countries spend over 15 times subsidizing the coal and oil industry than developed countries provide in adaptation finance to poor and vulnerable countries, said Oxfam today, ahead of the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey. Oxfam also urged the G20 leaders to tackle fundamental reforms to ensure the benefits of… – Continue reading
The group, as a whole, will have to contend with adopting the BEPS framework and fulfilling the commitments made under the Brisbane Action Plan 2014 The tenth G-20 meeting at Antalya, Turkey, (that starts day after tomorrow) is gaining momentum. The challenges before the G-20 nations are many and varied…. – Continue reading
Corporate corruption is still prevalent in rich Group of 20 nations despite their pledges last year to close loopholes, according to Transparency International. It has listed Brazil, China and the US among the offenders. Transparency International on Thursday labeled this weekend’s G20 summit in Turkey as a mere “photo opportunity,”… – Continue reading
Azerbaijan’s participation in G20 (the Group of Twenty) summit is of special importance for Turkey, a source in Turkey’s presidential administration told Trend Nov.11. The 2015 G-20 Antalya summit will be the tenth annual meeting of the G-20 heads of government. It will be held Nov.15-16 in Antalya, Turkey. Azerbaijan… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The forthcoming G20 summit will not be only about the global economy. Host Turkey has said the world’s top 20 nations will have to debate the world’s biggest political and security crisis of the day, Syria, and the mass migration of refugees. According to local media reports, the… – Continue reading
(October 28, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) “I and my family members have no secret accounts in Dubai banks,”said the Rajapaksa ‘Crown Prince’ Namal when the media published reports about a secret account in a Dubai bank of a son of a VVIP. The media reports stated that the Sri… – Continue reading
Foreign companies with Indian shareholders won’t have to pay taxes here for their worldwide income unless they are managed from India on an everyday basis. If these foreign companies are managed from outside India, whether or not they are promoted by resident Indians, they will have to pay taxes in… – Continue reading
Ambassador Furio De Angelis, the UN Refugee Agency’s man in Ottawa, says the media attention on the refugee crisis hitting Europe from all directions is a good thing, and one he hopes will translate into “concrete action.” He said the situation is dramatic, but it’s also a reflection of his… – Continue reading
Turkish banks and companies are trying to sell syndicated loans to Asian investors after a drop in Asian lending but investors are wary of increasing Turkish exposure due to political instability following June’s elections, bankers said. Turkish borrowers are targeting Asian investors in a bid to extend loan maturities after… – Continue reading
PANAMA CITY (AP) — – Panama took a major step in an effort to clean up its reputation as Latin America’s premier hub for money laundering. The nation’s legislature late Wednesday unanimously approved a proposed law that will toughen supervision of more than a dozen non-financial sectors where illicit proceeds… – Continue reading
Panama took a major step in an effort to clean up its reputation as Latin America’s premier hub for money laundering, reports the AP. The nation’s legislature late Wednesday unanimously approved a proposed law that will toughen supervision of more than a dozen non-financial sectors where illicit proceeds from the… – Continue reading
Armenian National Committee of America Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian testified yesterday before a key Congressional panel in support of increased U.S. assistance to Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia, at-risk Middle Eastern Armenian communities, and the Javakhk region of Georgia. In her opening remarks, Nahapetian thanked House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations… – Continue reading
J. Safra Sarasin Holding Ltd., the Swiss private bank owned by billionaire Joseph Safra, indicated it may make further acquisitions after the purchase of Morgan Stanley’s Geneva unit. The company “is ideally positioned to pursue our growth strategy and act as a leading player in the ongoing industry consolidation” in… – Continue reading
London is a global haven for criminal financial activity – with billions of pounds laundered through British banks each day, according to the head of the UK’s National Crime Agency. “Many hundreds of billions of pounds of criminal money is almost certainly laundered through UK banks and their subsidiaries each… – Continue reading
Some 19 British firms are at the center of an investigation into in a mammoth global money-laundering operation. The scheme was allegedly contrived to make $20bn (£12.5bn) worth of ill-gotten gains appear legitimate. The illicit funds are thought to have originated from criminal gangs and corrupt officials across the globe,… – Continue reading
