The Economist (April 9)
“Many schemes described in the Panama papers involve anonymous shell companies, whose real owners hide behind hired ‘nominees’. Such vehicles are known as the ‘getaway cars’ for tax dodgers, launderers and crooked officials. It is time to untint their windows by creating central registers of beneficial ownership that are open to tax officials, law-enforcers—and the public.”
Tags: Anonymous, Beneficial ownership, Launderers, Nominees, Panama Papers, Registers, Shell companies, Tax dodgers
The Economist (March 1)
Businesses can never fully eliminate fraud, but directors and executives must “treat it like any other unavoidable risk, and manage it professionally.” This means listening carefully to whistleblowers. “Three times as many frauds are discovered by tip-offs than by any other method…. Firms with fraud hotlines, which staff can call anonymously, suffer smaller losses from fraud, and cut by seven months the ‘exposure gap’ between the start of an illicit scheme and its discovery.”
Tags: Anonymous, Businesses, Directors, Discovery, Executives, Exposure gap, Fraud, Hotlines, Losses, Risk, Staff, Tip-offs, Whistleblowers
