NEW YORK — Tax abuse, money laundering and corruption plague the global financial system, a high-level UN panel reported in an interim report it said underscores the need for urgent reforms.
“Corruption and tax avoidance are rampant. Too many banks are in cahoots and too many governments are stuck in the past,” said Dalia Grybauskaitė, co-chair of the High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI). “We’re all being robbed, especially the world’s poor.”]
The panel was established by the 74th president of the General Assembly and the 75th president of the Economic and Social Council, and consists of former heads of state and government, past central bank governors, business and civil society leaders and prominent academics, the Saudi Gazette reported.
According to the FACTI report, diverted resources that could be used for the poor include $500 billion in governments losses annually from profit-shifting enterprises; $7 trillion in private wealth hidden in haven countries — with 10% of world GDP held offshore; and some $1.6 trillion in money laundering each year.
The panel upheld that governments must do more to tackle tax abuse and corruption in global finance.