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Saturday, 13 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Dealing with Chapter VI of the UNCAC on Technical Assistance and Information Exchange, Ameresekere pointed out that developed countries are specifically stipulated as being obligated to assist and providing information to developing countries.
Drawing attention to scandalous corporate frauds and financial scams in the developed countries, which even warranted governments to provide stimulus packages utilising tax payer monies, Ameresekere debunked the premise of the UNCAC of the perception that developed countries were not corrupt, whereas developing countries were corrupt, and accordingly Chapter VI of the UNCAC had stipulated that the developing countries needed assistance of the developed countries to combat the cancerous menace of corruption, both in the public and private sectors as coming under the ambit of the UNCAC, since all those who are custodians of public monies are accountable as trustees thereof.
Citing the recent exposure of disclosures in Tax Havens, depicted as per Charts, mainly in developed countries perceived to be non-corrupt, Ameresekere stressed that under and in terms of the UNCAC, that the developed countries should provide information disclosed pertaining to ‘politically exposed persons’ (PEPs) in developing countries, who had stashed away funds in tax havens in such developed countries. He pointed out that ironically whilst such proceeds of crime of corruption are considered as ‘dirty monies,’ that Tax Havens in developed countries had indeed profited from such ‘dirty monies’.
Ameresekere cited the deliberations and decisions at the recent G8 Meeting on investigating into monies stashed away in tax havens. He pointed out that such action by the developed countries was not motivated by the impetus to combat corruption, but had arisen out of compulsion of falling tax revenues in such countries. He intimated that one of the Books authored by him disclosed how overseas corporate structures hide real owners.
Further reinforcing his arguments Ameresekere pointed out that the current developments in international financial sectors, mandated financial institutions to ‘know their customers’, even where monies are stashed away under the guise of corporates, professionally constructed and held in trust for beneficial owners, who are the real owners of such proceeds of crime of corruption, and that such funds are in turn laundered in the share markets through stock exchanges. He cited specific disclosures made in the Courts of Sri Lanka.
Further buttressing his stance, Ameresekere urged IAACA, which facilitates the promotion of the implementation of the UNCAC to take cognisance of the practical reality, that corruption authorities are unlikely to initiate Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) requests for information on proceeds of crime of corruption of their political masters, stashed away in tax havens. Therefore he urged that disclosure should be made by the developed countries, without waiting for such MLA requests from developing countries in terms of the UNCAC. He pointed out that assets declarations of real beneficial owners of trust corporates in Tax Havens would not disclose such ownership of corporates, making such declarations a fiction.
Ameresekere has recently completed authoring a series of 13 books to the global market, documenting real case studies and dealing with subjects of fraud and corruption, economic crime, public finance, governance and the rule of law, which have received high commendations from experts in such sectors, and are in prestigious international Libraries, particularly dealing with such subjects, including the Library of the US Congress.
