Adrian Lovett, Deputy CEO (interim) of ONE, said: “David Cameron’s Anti-Corruption Summit has taken very important steps forward in the fight against corruption. The commitments made here show how far we have come in this fight, but also how far we have still to go.

“We welcome the moves by France, the Netherlands and Nigeria to create public registers of beneficial ownership, and that foreign firms that own property in the UK will now declare their assets publicly in a bid to stamp out money-laundering.

“But these are only steps in a longer journey. Global corruption drains the lifeblood of the global economy and makes the world less secure, prosperous and just.

“ONE calls on countries who attended the Anti-Corruption Summit to urgently implement gold standard policies that ensure fair play. To root out corruption, we need committed and robust action, crucially including the public disclosure of beneficial ownership of companies and trusts, as France has just announced.”

ENDS

For all media queries, please contact Chris Mitchell on 020 7434 6935 / 07901 006 799 or email [email protected]

Adrian Lovett is at the Anti-Corruption Summit and is available for interviews.

The ONE Campaign is calling for policies that boost the fight against corruption and end the Trillion Dollar Scandal. Developing countries have at least $1 trillion siphoned out of them each year, because of secrecy and flaws in the global financial system. To end this scandal, ONE is calling for:

• Public register of beneficial ownership, so we know who owns trusts and companies.
• Tighter rules to make it harder to hide corrupt assets.
• More Due diligence in business transactions so ignorance is no excuse if people you do business with turn out to be corrupt.
• Transparency for companies buying oil, minerals or gas.
• Public disclosure of companies’ tax payments.
• Greater transparency in government procurement.
• Government budgets should be available for anyone to view.

About ONE

ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of more than 7 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. To learn more, go to ONE.org.