Posts

36 200+ whistle-blowers at centre of CW’s 10-year journey

The long journey of over 36 200 whistle-blowers in the fight against corruption in South Africa comes into focus in the 2021 edition of the Corruption Watch (CW) annual report, Pushing for change, as the organisation commemorates 10 years since its establishment in 2012. The past decade reveals a volatile experience for the brave whistle-blowers who Read more >

CW and other TI chapters urge FATF to move on beneficial ownership registers

Global anti-corruption organisation Transparency International (TI) has long been advocating for the establishment of a global standard for centralised, publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers – whose stored information has been verified. The organisation firmly believes such registers would allow everyone to see the true beneficiaries of anonymous companies, and help authorities, journalists and civil society Read more >

CW submits comments on the Companies Amendment Bill

Much of Corruption Watch’s (CW) work consists of advocating for transparency – in procurement, in leadership appointments, in allocating resources, in matters of governance. Corruption threatens the credibility and effectiveness of these measures and more, and therefore transparency is crucial to curbing, even abolishing the scourge.   Beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) is seen as an increasingly important element of any anti-corruption strategy, as it is fundamental in tackling illicit Read more >

SA good on legal anti-money laundering framework, poor on implementation

In October the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its mutual evaluation report on South Africa, following an assessment of the country’s anti-money laundering, counter financing of terrorism and counter financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPF) systems.  The mutual evaluation was conducted by a team led by the International Monetary Fund and including officials from the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group and FATF member countries. The team assessed compliance Read more >

Financial crime more difficult with true owner transparency

Our new mini-series shines the spotlight on the current Financial Action Task Force (FATF) beneficial ownership review process. Part 1 presented the particular issues the organisation has recently sought input on, part 2 examined the five recommendations submitted by Transparency International as a response to the FATF invitation, part 3 looked at the FATF draft amendments in response to the call for Read more >

Tighter beneficial ownership regulations in FATF proposal

Our new mini-series shines the spotlight on the current Financial Action Task Force (FATF) beneficial ownership review process. Part 1 presented the particular issues the organisation has recently sought input on, part 2 examined the five recommendations submitted by Transparency International as a response to the FATF invitation, this article – part 3 – looks at the FATF response to the submissions Read more >

Beneficial ownership register is imperative, says TI

Our new mini-series shines the spotlight on the current Financial Action Task Force (FATF) beneficial ownership review process. Part 1 presents the particular issues the organisation has recently sought input on, this article – part 2 – examines the five recommendations submitted by Transparency International as a response to the FATF invitation, part 3 looks at the FATF proposed amendments, and part Read more >

Accelerating beneficial ownership transparency in Africa

By Maureen Kariuki, Karabo Rajuili and and Edwin Wuadom WardenFirst published on Open Government Partnership Corporate anonymity poses significant risks to domestic resource mobilisation in Africa. Research by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) suggests that African countries can retain an estimated US$89-billion per year if illicit capital flight can be addressed. Accelerating Read more >