The Afghan government has made a landmark advance in mineral sector transparency, enabling the Afghan people to see and scrutinize the deals negotiated on their behalf. Over the last week, it has published in full the... read more
News and reports
14.10.2012 | Opening up Afghanistan's extractives sector - Afghan Government unveils first tranche of mining and oil contracts
12.10.2012 | Global Witness condemns API lawsuit to strike down Dodd-Frank oil, gas and mining transparency provision
For immediate release: October 11, 2012
Global Witness is outraged by a lawsuit filed by the American Petroleum Institute (API), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others to gut Section 1504, an important anti-corruption... read more
11.10.2012 | New Congolese oil and mining codes must include strong measures on transparency, tenders and community rights
As the Democratic Republic of Congo begins the process of revising its mining and oil codes, Global Witness has published its recommendations on how the codes could best ensure transparent and accountable management of... read more
Lack of transparency threatens groundbreaking trade agreements with EU
Visit Making the Forest Sector Transparent website
Governments of African timber exporters are not providing crucial public access to... read more
The latest draft of Liberia’s Petroleum Policy Paper (received 6 July 2012) marks a significant step forward for the development of a new framework to manage the country’s oil. However, while the policy contains a... read more
A Cambodian court has dropped its investigation into the murder of anti-logging activist Chut Wutty, in what can only be described as the latest effort to silence those who criticize the government’s abuse of the... read more
04.10.2012 | Privacy & Cookies
Use of cookies by Global Witness
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to... read more
01.10.2012 | Lengthy jail sentence for Cambodian activist highlights worsening state repression amidst land grab crisis
Interactive map: watch Cambodia's land grab crisis worsening over time
The sentencing of Cambodian activist Mom Sonando to 20 years in prison for supposedly masterminding a rebellion is the latest example of government... read more
01.10.2012 | Mystery shopping exercise shows how easy it is to set up anonymous companies in the U.S. and UK
Originally posted on the Taskforce on Financial Integrity’s website here.
By Rosie Sharp
Rosie Sharp is a Senior Campaigner for Global Witness, a member of the Task Force Coordinating Committee.
You’re a criminal and... read more
Sudan and South Sudan’s new oil deal fails to guarantee citizens the basic information they need to hold their governments accountable for the vast amounts of money involved, said Global Witness today.
After several... read more
A report by Peru Support Group.
Abstract: High gold prices, persistent poverty and a shortage of employment opportunities in Peru have all contributed to an increase in artisanal and small-scale gold mining activity in... read more
This interactive map by Cambodian organisation Licadho lays bare the speed and scale of the landgrabbing crisis currently gripping Cambodia. Over 2.1 million hectares of land – roughly the total area of Wales... read more
Shell companies
Launderers Anonymous
A study highlights how easy it is to set up untraceable companies
Sep 22nd 2012 | NEW YORK | from The Economist
SHELL companies—which exist on paper only, with no real... read more
19.09.2012 | Fairness Opinion
19.09.2012 | Blog from Global Witness' Stefanie Ostfeld: Dictators’ Riches Are Stolen at Home, But Banked in the West
This post first appeared on Freedom House's Freedom at Issue blog.
Corrupt dictators who take bribes and loot their treasuries are rightly condemned by governments and other observers in developed... read more
Conflict Minerals | Zimbabwe | Conflict Diamonds | Business and Human Rights | Conflict | Corruption
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The international community must act to prevent off budget financing of Mugabe’s feared secret police, said Global Witness in a report published today.
The report, Financing a Parallel Government?, reveals that... read more
The world’s richest countries promised to close the gap between commitments they have made to fight corruption and the implementation of these promises in reality, as part of the leaders communiqué issued yesterday at... read more
New figures collected by Global Witness on the killings of activists, journalists and community members who were defending rights to land and forests show the true, shocking extent of competition for access to... read more
17.06.2012 | Global Witness calls for action to end hidden company ownership in light of money laundering accusations
пресс-релиз на русском языке доступен тут
Global Witness is today revealing evidence that numerous UK companies appear to have helped facilitate a major money laundering scandal centred on a bank in Central Asia. Grave... read more
Obiang Should Tackle Corruption, Poverty, and Repression in Oil-Rich Equatorial Guinea
(Washington, DC, June 15, 2012) – The president of Equatorial Guinea should take concrete steps to respect human rights, address... read more
A new US Department of Justice court filing has made substantial allegations of corruption against Teodorin Obiang, the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea. The document is part of a wider US effort to recover... read more
31.05.2012 | Renewed fighting in eastern Congo highlights urgent need to end conflict minerals trade
Version française
Read the report
Embargoed until: Midnight BST Wednesday 30 May 2012
Renewed violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) underscores the urgent need for companies and governments to... read more
Explanations made by Shell and ENI about payments made for a controversial oil deal in Nigeria are no longer sufficient and they must immediately come clean with more information about the deal, said Global Witness... read more
30.05.2012 | Lengthy Taylor sentence represents justice for Sierra Leoneans: Justice still needed for the people of Liberia
Accountability | Liberia | Sierra Leone | Conflict Diamonds | Post Conflict | Ending Impunity | Conflict
Read the Global Witness background briefing on the Charles Taylor Verdict
The 50-year prison sentence handed down to Charles Taylor by the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague represents justice for the people of... read more
For immediate release: 21 May 2012
Congo government enforces law to curb conflict mineral trade
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Global Witness welcomes a move by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week to enforce a... read more
For further information about this story, download the Global Witness briefing: Shell’s obscure payments kill its case for weak US and EU transparency laws
The details of payments agreed by Shell to the Nigerian... read more
South Sudan must exercise caution and total transparency in pursuing oil-backed financing, said Global Witness today. The detailed publication of any loan agreement will be critical in preventing exploitative terms,... read more
Legislation Enjoys Support of Law Enforcement, Obama Administration; Would Clean-Up American Financial System
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, 41 business and civil society groups sent a letter to every member of the U... read more
16.05.2012 | Young girl killed as clashes over land between communities and authorities escalate in Cambodia
The killing of a young teenaged girl in clashes with Cambodian military police is the latest in a series of violent conflicts between local people and the authorities trying to evict them from their land, Global Witness... read more
Further information about Global Witness's investigation into Glencore’s investments in Congo and the company’s links to Dan Gertler, as well as written responses by Glencore and Mr Gertler’s... read more
27.10.2010 | Briefing Document: The Bribery Bill
Global Witness and its partners on the BOND anti-corruption group have long called for an overhaul of the UK’s outdated anti-bribery legislation, to prevent companies from paying bribes to facilitate their operations at... read more
Consumer demand for expensive rosewood furniture and musical instruments in China and elsewhere is the primary driver of an ecologically devastating trade in illegal timber. This report examines the international... read more
The purpose of this paper is to provide suggestions for ways in which a new, post-referendum oil deal between north and south Sudan could be made as transparent as possible in order to ensure that the deal is stable and... read more
This short briefing document outlines the transparency provisions required for a new oil deal in Sudan. Its annex outlines suggested wording for these provisions. With the referendum on southern secession scheduled... read more
In July 2010 the U.S. Senate passed a groundbreaking law that promotes greater public oversight of companies trading in oil, gas and minerals. The Dodd-Frank Act sets out to stem the flow of conflict minerals from... read more
British high street banks have accepted millions of pounds in deposits from corrupt Nigerian politicians, raising serious questions about their commitment to tackling financial crime, warned Global Witness in a report... read more
01.10.2010 | Independent Monitoring of REDD+: increasing transparency, accountability and civil society engagement
Negotiations for a system to reduce forest loss by paying developing countries to preserve their forests are taking place under the banner Reducing Emissions through Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+).... read more
Global Witness has worked closely with the other members of the Bond Anti-corruption Group to produce a blueprint for UK action to tackle corruption overseas. This paper exposes some of the gaps in the UK government's... read more
18.09.2010 | IMF should take closer look at RosUkrEnergo
Read this article in the Kyiv Post
As a British citizen, if my government was sued by a private company, I'd be more than a little surprised if it transpired that one of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron's top... read more
Provisions in the U.S. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (also known as the Financial Reform Act) will require companies whose products contain cassiterite (tin ore), coltan (tantalum ore),... read more
27.07.2010 | The Bribery Act: what it means for business
Briefing paper produced by the Chartered Institute of Managment Accountants (CIMA) in collaboration with Global Witness outlining the implications for UK accountants and businesses worldwide of the new 2010 Bribery Act... read more
Dear Chairs of the Interim REDD+ Partnership,
The undersigned organisations would like to express their strong objection to the terms on which civil society has been asked, through an invitation received on 7 July... read more
14.07.2010 | Renewing the Pledge: Re-Engaging the Guarantors to the Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement
With six months until a referendum on Southern independence, Sudan is alarmingly unprepared. Renewing the Pledge is published by a coalition of 26 NGOs, including Global Witness from Africa, the Middle East,... read more
Press release
Пресс-релиз на русском
Kazakhmys plc, a FTSE 100 company which mines copper in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, failed to declare potentially key information about its shareholders and directors... read more
Rebels, militias and army units have hijacked the trade in mineral ores from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while subjecting the civilian population to massacres, rape, extortion, forced labour and... read more
Diarmid O'Sullivan, Open Society Foundation research fellow and ex-Global Witness campaigner has released a report today on how transparency helps identify problems in the governance of natural resources, as well... read more
05.02.2013 | We could end poverty if … David Cameron is right?
Britain‘s G8 presidency a chance to reframe the poverty debate
It’s always encouraging to see our leaders pushing the right line for a change. Outlining his agenda for the G8 at the World Economic Forum in Davos... read more
One story that will be sure to develop in 2013 is the controversy around ENRC’s activities in Congo. For the background for this, a good place to start is the Global Witness statement of 23 December: “ENRC shareholders... read more
Rosie Sharpe, Senior campaigner, Global Witness
Investigations carried out by the Guardian, ICIJ and the BBC's Panorama programme into the ease with which anonymous shell companies can be used to move dirty money... read more
01.10.2012 | Mystery shopping exercise shows how easy it is to set up anonymous companies in the U.S. and UK
Originally posted on the Taskforce on Financial Integrity’s website here.
By Rosie Sharp
Rosie Sharp is a Senior Campaigner for Global Witness, a member of the Task Force Coordinating Committee.
You’re a criminal and... read more
Shell companies
Launderers Anonymous
A study highlights how easy it is to set up untraceable companies
Sep 22nd 2012 | NEW YORK | from The Economist
SHELL companies—which exist on paper only, with no real... read more
19.09.2012 | Blog from Global Witness' Stefanie Ostfeld: Dictators’ Riches Are Stolen at Home, But Banked in the West
This post first appeared on Freedom House's Freedom at Issue blog.
Corrupt dictators who take bribes and loot their treasuries are rightly condemned by governments and other observers in developed... read more
13.09.2012 | Business Insider: The Man Who Infiltrated Pablo Escobar's Cartel Explains What's Wrong With The Global Banking System
By Michael Kelley | Business Insider – Fri, Sep 7, 2012 12:56 PM EDT
Robert Mazur, the U.S. Customs special agent who led one of the most successful undercover operations in U.S. law enforcement... read more
By Tom Picken - read this blog on Reuters Trustlaw
International efforts to protect forests and the people that live in them have failed so badly that just 20 per cent of forest remains untouched by commercial activity... read more
Ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the European Parliament's Legal Affairs committee, Global Witness staged a parade of “dictators” in protest at plans to water down upcoming European laws to make oil, mining and timber... read more
Huffington Post blog written by Global Witness' Sudan and South Sudan Analyst, Dana Wilkins, available here. read more
This article was published in the Financial Times on 24th February 2011.
Read press advisory on this issue.
Don't make it easier for dictators to steal
By Anthea Lawson, head of Kleptocracy campaign
The world may... read more
Global Witness's Anthea Lawson and the Financial Task Force's Christine Clough discuss ways to address the illicit financial flows that threaten Uganda's extractive sector and wider economy.
Read here. read more
03.02.2011 | Global Witness for The Times - British business simply can not afford a delay to the Bribery Act
Read this article on The Times website.
We are desperately trying to rebuild British business after the financial crisis. Against that backdrop, you would think that an update to archaic anti-bribery laws that brings... read more
Read this blog on Huffington Post.
When governments around the world are taking measures in support of fiscal austerity, foreign assistance is always a prime target for the chopping block. Bravely, some governments,... read more
Diarmid O'Sullivan, Open Society Foundation research fellow and ex-Global Witness campaigner has released a report today on how transparency helps identify problems in the governance of natural resources, as well... read more
05.11.2012 | Daily Telegraph - 'Land grab' as families are uprooted to make way for luxury resort that will host EU ministers
Cambodia | Laos | Land Deals
At least 500 people have been uprooted from their homes to make way for luxury villas where European Union foreign ministers, including William Hague, will stay during a summit in Laos on Monday, writes David Blair in... read more
A report by Peru Support Group.
Abstract: High gold prices, persistent poverty and a shortage of employment opportunities in Peru have all contributed to an increase in artisanal and small-scale gold mining activity in... read more
Shell companies
Launderers Anonymous
A study highlights how easy it is to set up untraceable companies
Sep 22nd 2012 | NEW YORK | from The Economist
SHELL companies—which exist on paper only, with no real... read more
20.08.2012 | Tokyo Sexwale and the DRC's Mr Grab
"A $150-million investment ties Tokyo Sexwale to a controversial Israeli businessman as he pulled off the "heist" of a prize mining asset in the DRC" - Mail & Guardian. Click here to read the article. read more
18.11.2011 | Reuters Africa: South Sudan assertive on oil sales
South Sudan will market its crude through its oil ministry, an oil official said on Thursday casting further doubt on the role trading major Glencore's venture will have in selling the nation's oil. Alexander Dziadosz... read more
Some donors do well, all donors can do better, writes Publish What You Fund. read more
Britain is being urged to help close down a legal loophole that lets financiers known as "vulture funds" use courts in Jersey to claim hundreds of millions of pounds from the world's poorest countries, write Greg Palast... read more
15.11.2011 | BBC: Call for greater aid transparency
A UK-based lobby group is calling for more transparency in the spending of global development aid, estimated to be worth about $150bn (£93bn), writes BBC's Mark Doyle. read more
Clariden Leu AG, with roots that make it Switzerland's oldest private bank, has begun telling certain U.S. customers suspected of offshore tax evasion that it will disclose their names to the U.S. Internal Revenue... read more
06.09.2011 | Wall St Journal - SocGen deals eyed by Libya
Officials working with Libya's new governing authority are examining whether any payments made by Société Générale SA as part of its business relationship with the Libyan Investment Authority ended up in the hands of... read more
South Sudan's oil minister said on Saturday that an oil cargo detained by northern officials in Port Sudan in a row over duty payments had now sailed, but that negotiations over transit fees were stalled - read... read more
A major international anti-corruption provision in the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation remains stalled at the Securities and Exchange Commission, a year after the bill was passed by Congress and three months... read more
Two days before Sudan splits in two, negotiating teams have failed to agree how to divide the oil critical to the economies of north and south, as aid agencies warn the country is closest to war since a 2005 peace deal... read more
British firms have acquired more land in Africa for controversial biofuel plantations than companies from any other country, write Damian Carrington and Stefano Valentino. read more
South Sudan hopes to sell several unexplored oil blocks for $1 billion in coming months, a finance official said, giving a potential lifeline for the African country's hobbled economy. Reuters.
To read the Global... read more
One story that will be sure to develop in 2013 is the controversy around ENRC’s activities in Congo. For the background for this, a good place to start is the Global Witness statement of 23 December: “ENRC shareholders... read more
Rosie Sharpe, Senior campaigner, Global Witness
Investigations carried out by the Guardian, ICIJ and the BBC's Panorama programme into the ease with which anonymous shell companies can be used to move dirty money... read more
From the Daily Mail
ENRC has resolved not to buy mineral rights via controversial middlemen who campaign groups say pose an appearance or risk of corruption, the Mail understands.
Chairman Mehmet Dalman has taken an... read more
08.08.2012 | World Politics Review: Despite Oil Deal, Obstacles to Sudan-South Sudan Reconciliation Remain
With peril looming on both countries’ economic horizons, Sudan and South Sudan brokered a milestone oil-transit agreement over the weekend to the effusive praise of the international community. The deal represents a... read more
South Sudan says it will allow full access to information involving deals with international financial institutions, following a report by Global Witness on Wednesday, which it recommends that the new nation “exercise... read more
18.05.2012 | Caixin: Big Oil on Edge as U.S. Requires Disclosure
An intense lobbying campaign is under way as U.S. authorities prepare to implement what are supposed to be investor-friendly laws designed to clarify the global operations of listed oil companies. Zhang Tao and Wang... read more
Huffington Post blog written by Global Witness' Sudan and South Sudan Analyst, Dana Wilkins, available here. read more
Rob Walker of the BBC Assignment team investigates what’s happened to billions of dollars in oil revenues paid to the government of Equatorial Guinea since it's oil boom in the 1990s.
Anthea Lawson from Global... read more
Global Witness has long campaigned for companies to come clean about who actually owns them. In most countries in the world individuals can legally disguise their identities and their assets behind anonymous shell... read more
Diamonds worth hundreds of millions of dollars are due to be put on sale on Friday by a joint Chinese-Zimbabwean company with strong military ties. The auction follows last month's decision by the industry watchdog... read more
China, the largest buyer of Sudanese crude oil, is pressing Sudan and the newly independent South Sudan to end a row that has led to the blockade of about 200,000 barrels a day of crude oil and contributed to... read more
Sudan said on Monday it had halted landlocked South Sudan's oil exports until the two agree on a transit fee, stepping up a row between the former civil war foes over how to untangle their once-integrated oil industries... read more
Sudan said on Monday it had halted landlocked South Sudan's oil exports until the two agree on a transit fee, stepping up a row between the former civil war foes over how to untangle their once-integrated oil industries... read more
Back in 2009 it was heralded as a potential model for reducing rates of deforestation and REDD+ but Nowary's deal with Guyana appears to have made little progress, writes Girish Gupta. read more
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