Obscure ownership enables legal entities to become vehicles for illicit activities, act as pawns in corruption schemes, and evade or avoid taxation. Beneficial ownership information is a powerful policy tool to combat anonymity. This Helpdesk Answer provides an overview of how a wide variety of stakeholders use or could be using beneficial ownership information and provides examples of impact.
Staying with beneficial ownership, we ask “what’s in it for business?” A new United States case study details lessons from the private sector and civil society advocacy for corporate ownership transparency. (Don’t forget TAI’s library of cases of beneficial ownership reforms.)
A first-of-its-kind guide outlines best practices in the development and management of collaborative pro bono projects to meet the legal needs of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals.
Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, UN Special Rapporteur, calls for accountability and political reform to overcome the crisis in Peru. “The Government of Peru must ensure those responsible for killing and injuring protestors during a recent wave of historic demonstrations in the country are brought to justice.”
Carlos Martínez de la Serna analyzes the recent threats to journalistic work in Peru: the attempt by Congress to increase penalties for defamation, judicial harassment of investigative journalists, as well as attacks by far-right groups.
CHANDLER FOUNDATION:
"Governments and entities like the World Bank that works closely with [civil society organizations] are essential drivers of systemic change when it comes to building strong and accountable government institutions." TAI Steering Comeeti member Leslie Tsai onwhy Chandler partners on a Governance and Institutions trust fund.
SKOLL FOUNDATION:
Skoll awardeeWilly Footefounder of Root Capital is pushing for local and Indigenous leaders, smallholder farmers, and rural community members to receive funding for climate change solutions. Watch more highlights from the 20th Skoll World Forum.
FORD FOUNDATION:
Otto Saki from the Ford Foundationco-authored‘Building a Global Agenda for Democracy’, arguing that “this is a moment for democracy. After almost two decades of persistent gloomy news on global democratic trends, we are seeing potential signs of hope.”
LUMINATE:
is looking for its next Policy Director.
The 25th of May was Africa Day, commemorating the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963. Prospera celebrated by recognizing its feminist movement members from the region.
Ogo Chukwudi from Trust Africa, shares her journey and reflections on building relationships of trust between funders and communities.
Mackenzie-Scott’s Yield Giving closed it first open call for proposals in early May. Cecilia Conrad of Lever for Change, which is running the competition, shares early findings and a new service allowing others to replicate the process - if you have $20m to invest and can commit $1m minimum per grantee partner. We could do with more of that in the governance field!
These five green grantmakers may not be massive, but they're influential. Rockefeller Fund is for instance among the backers of one of philanthropy’s most dynamic participatory environmental movement-building funds.
In recognition of Africa Day, we dig into stories that offer positive signals from the continent.
Nigeria has become the first African country to collect beneficial ownership data in line with Open Ownership’s data standard as captured in its updated Persons with Significant Control Register. This is a milestone seven years in the making.
At the Southern Africa Anti-Corruption Collective Action Forum, the Basel Institute will award regional initiatives that have demonstrated outstanding achievements in tackling corruption and raising standards of business integrity. The three finalists are CoST – the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative Uganda, Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI), MozUp Enterprise Development Center.
On the climate accountability front, Louise Olivier, program manager at the IKEA Foundation says “In Africa, there is an understanding of what community and collective action means. We are very well placed to take these steps to minimize climate change as much as possible.” Carefully following the money flowing to the region will help. In this Oxpeckers investigation, Thabo Molelekwa delves deeper into the status of the US$8.5-billion pledged to support South Africa’s Just Energy Transition.
Turning to democratic health, Professor Chidi Odinkalu says “Everyone is complaining about the return of coups in Africa, but no one wants to do anything about them. We can change that.” African Union Member States have been urged to ratify the 2014 Malabo Protocol which extends the jurisdiction of the yet-to-be-established African Court of Justice on Human Rights (ACJHR) to include crimes under international law and transnational crimes.
The Who Funds You? project initially ran from 2012 - 2019. Now openDemocracy has relaunched the project with a series of new audits. UK-based think tanks are given transparency grades from A to E.
Daniel Leufer and Meabh detail what you need to know about generative AI and human rights.
Alda Salvinger details how lack of transparency inhibits the scale-up of solar projects in Zambia (and beyond).
Ahead of its upcoming Global Conference, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Board has agreed on revisions to the EITI Standard. It includes new and strengthened provisions to understand the impact of the energy transition, address corruption risks, promote gender equity, and enhance revenue collection.
JOBS AT TAI MEMBERS
Job postings at Hewlett Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at MacArthur Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at Open Society Foundations - ONGOING
Job postings at Luminate - ONGOING
Job postings at Ford Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at FCDO - ONGOING
Job postings at Skoll - ONGOING
JOBS LISTINGS
Program manager anti-corruption and fiscal integrity programs, NDI
Director of What Works Unit, The International Fund for Public Interest Media
Anti-Money Laundering/Transnational Crime Program Advisor IV, MSI
Chair and Trustees vacancies, Publish What You Fund
CALLS / OPPORTUNITIES
Request for proposals: Just transition mapping, Laudes Foundation
Summer school on transparency scholarships, Europe-based
Thousand Currents Academy: Building Solidarity with Global Movements, August 7th-10th, Atlanta, Georgia.
CALENDAR
Ending impunity to corruption in health systems, Thursday 1 June, 14:30-15:30 GMT+1
Panel discussion: "Kleptocracy and The Financial Action Task Force". Monday 5 June, 5pm – 6.30pm BST
Rights Con 2023, June 5-8, 2023
RINGO Community Gathering - Innovation and Influencing, Tuesday 13th June, 12:00-13:30 GMT
EITI Global Conference, Dakar, June 2023
Conference on the future of AI – and what this means for (countering) disinformation, June 29, Brussels, Belgium
2023 #ShiftThePower Summit, Bogota, Colombia, December 2023
WINGS Forum 2023, October 3-5, 2023, Nairobi
EDGE Funders Annual Conference “Funding Boldly: Systemic Change and Alternatives,” 18-20 October 2023