Ownership, Financial Accountability and the Law
Ownership, Financial Accountability and the Law

Author: Paul Beckett

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-08

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 0429782004

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There is something visceral about ownership. This is mine; you can’t have it. This is mine; you can share it. This is ours. Try to find it. Contemporary literature and investigative journalism are showing that the scale of the problem of tax evasion, money laundering, organised crime, terrorism, bribery, corruption and gross human rights abuses is vast. Ownership – specifically, the quest to identify beneficial owners - has been chosen by national and international regulators as the touchstone, the litmus test in the fight back. An owner by definition must possess something for which they are financially accountable. But what is meant by "ownership"? This book explains why ownership is pivotal to accountability, and what ownership means in common law, civil law and Shariah law terms. It looks in detail at State, regional and international transparency strategies and at an equally powerful global private counter-initiative to promote beneficial ownership avoidance through the use of so-called "orphan structures". Where there is no owner, there is no accountability. The distinction between privacy and legitimate confidentiality on the one hand, and concealment on the other is explained with reference to commercial and trade law and practice, principles of corporate governance and applicable business human rights. This book introduces one further counter initiative: the phenomenon of transient ownership made possible through the use of cryptocurrency and the blockchain. The study concludes with a blueprint for action with recommendations addressed to states, international organisations, practitioners and other stakeholders.

New Accountability in Financial Services
New Accountability in Financial Services

Author: Joe McGrath

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-01-01

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 3030887154

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This book is a critical examination of recently introduced individual accountability regimes that apply to the financial services industry in the UK (SMCR) and Australia (BEAR and the forthcoming FAR), together with a forthcoming new individual accountability regime ( in particular, SEAR) in Ireland. It provides a framework for analysing whether these regimes will achieve behavioural change in the financial services industry. This book argues that, whilst sanctioning individuals to deter future misconduct is an important part of any successful regulatory strategy, the focus should be on ensuring that individuals in the financial services industry internalise the norms of behaviour expected under the new regimes. In this regard, the analysis in this book is informed by criminological theory, regulatory theory and behavioural science. The work also argues for a “trajectory towards professionalisation” of financial services, and banking in particular, as an important means of positively influencing industry-wide norms of behaviour, which have a key influence on firms’ and individuals’ behaviours.

Accountability and the Law
Accountability and the Law

Author: Piotr Mikuli

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-08-12

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1000424677

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This book discusses contemporary accountability and transparency mechanisms by presenting a selection of case studies. The authors deal with various problems connected to controlling public institutions and incumbents’ responsibility in state bodies. The work is divided into three parts. Part I: Law examines the institutional and objective approach. Part II: Fairness and Rights considers the subject approach, referring to a recipient of rights. Part III: Authority looks at the functional approach, referring to the executors of law. Providing insights into increasing understanding of various concepts, principles, and institutions characteristic of the modern state, the book makes a valuable contribution to the area of comparative constitutional change. It will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and policy-makers working in the areas of constitutional law and politics.

Beneficial Ownership and Legal Responsibility
Beneficial Ownership and Legal Responsibility

Author: Paul Beckett

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-03-12

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 104000055X

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This book explores the connection between ownership, on one hand, and immunity from legal responsibility, on the other. It presents a definition of the concept of beneficial ownership, the reasons for its concealment, and failures in international legal structures and arrangements. Globally, States confront complex criminality, such as corruption, tax evasion, doctrinal fanaticism, trafficked slaves, terrorism and, war. At the personal level, men and women may seek to escape their creditors, to disinherit unwanted heirs, to cheat divorced partners, and to appear straightforward when this is not the case. The response of politicians and regulators has been a global State initiative to identify beneficial owners via public registers to promote transparency and accountability. Yet, at the same time, there is an equally powerful global and personal counter-initiative to promote beneficial ownership avoidance. Where there is no owner, there is no accountability. This book examines what “ownership” means in legal terms across multiple legal systems and explains why singling out “ownership” as being pivotal to State and personal accountability is a strategy both flawed and disingenuous. It is argued that an apparent lack of political will coupled with shape-shifting definitions of “ownership” have resulted in tokenism. Particular attention is paid to those “orphan” structures which have evolved from standard models, or which have been designed for the purpose in each case of facilitating ownership concealment and avoidance. The author explains how the virtual world of the blockchain, crypto-assets and cryptocurrency, and virtual entities such as the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO), all of which elude legal classification, have opened a new world of possibilities. Applicable across all jurisdictions and legal systems, the book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and policy-makers working in the areas of Financial Crime, Regulation, Compliance, Business, and Accountancy.

An Anatomy of Tax Havens
An Anatomy of Tax Havens

Author: Paul R. Beckett

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2023-10-23

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 3110985101

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Tax havens in offshore lands like Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas were once considered a rarity, the preserve of the super-rich. Today, they are big business available to the masses. Their goal? To avoid any form of accountability. Own nothing. Possess everything. Be answerable to no one. Where are these tax havens? What forms can they take? What future lies in store for them, and why should we care? An Anatomy of Tax Havens: Europe, the Caribbean and the United States of America answers these questions, and more, in the first comparative study in one volume of European, Caribbean and United States tax havens. It examines their simple origin to the extreme forms some take today, delving into the murky subculture that has deliberately made them impenetrably obscure. Uniquely, it combines detailed technical expertise (regulatory regimes, financial crime, legal and equitable structuring) with an analysis of their impact on domestic and global political, economic, environmental and social concerns. An Anatomy of Tax Havens is a fascinating, informative read for a broad readership; from legal, accountancy and tax practitioners to compliance regulators, law enforcement agencies, and students and researchers interested in business studies, taxation, and crime.

Animal Rights
Animal Rights

Author: Cass R. Sunstein

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2004-04-01

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 0198034733

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Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum bring together an all-star cast of contributors to explore the legal and political issues that underlie the campaign for animal rights and the opposition to it. Addressing ethical questions about ownership, protection against unjustified suffering, and the ability of animals to make their own choices free from human control, the authors offer numerous different perspectives on animal rights and animal welfare. They show that whatever one's ultimate conclusions, the relationship between human beings and nonhuman animals is being fundamentally rethought. This book offers a state-of-the-art treatment of that rethinking.

Technocracy and the Law
Technocracy and the Law

Author: Alessandra Arcuri

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-05-27

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 1000390144

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Technocratic law and governance is under fire. Not only populist movements have challenged experts. NGOs, public intellectuals and some academics have also criticized the too close relation between experts and power. While the amount of power gained by experts may be contested, it is unlikely and arguably undesirable that experts will cease to play an influential role in contemporary regulatory regimes. This book focuses on whether and how experts involved in policymaking can and should be held accountable. The book, divided into four parts, combines theoretical analysis with a wide variety of case studies expounding the challenges of holding experts accountable in a multilevel setting. Part I offers new perspectives on accountability of experts, including a critical comparison between accountability and a virtue-ethical framework for experts, a reconceptualization of accountability through the rule of law prism and a discussion of different ways to operationalize expert accountability. Parts I–IV, organized around in-depth case studies, shed light on the accountability of experts in three high-profile areas for technocratic governance in a European and global context: economic and financial governance, environmental/health and safety governance, and the governance of digitization and data protection. By offering fresh insights into the manifold aspects of technocratic decisionmaking and suggesting new avenues for rethinking expert accountability within multilevel governance, this book will be of great value not only to students and scholars in international and EU law, political science, public administration, science and technology studies but also to professionals working within EU institutions and international organizations.

Decentralization of the Socialist State
Decentralization of the Socialist State

Author: Richard Miller Bird

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 9780821331866

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World Bank Discussion Paper No. 271. This study incorporates data from comparable surveys across five African countries--Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Senegal, and Tanzania--to analyze how small and micro enterprises have been positively and negatively affected by policy liberalization schemes. Some grow rapidly by adapting their products, while others stagnate because of import competition and increased self- employment. Comparisons were made between small firms, with 6 to 49 workers, and microenterprises, with fewer than 6. The study suggests a two-pronged strategy: (1) to facilitate widespread participation in microenterprises, broad measures are needed to lower the costs of entry, generate demand for their goods and services, raise the educational level and incomes of the poor, and encourage informal financial institutions; (2) to stimulate growth of potentially dynamic enterprises, well-targeted measures may be appropriate to lower the costs of entry, increase access to credit, and provide demand-driven business services. Also available in French (ISBN 0-8213-3907-0) Stock No. 13907.

Corporations, Accountability and International Criminal Law
Corporations, Accountability and International Criminal Law

Author: J. Kyriakakis

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2021-12-28

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9780857939494

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This timely book explores the prospect of prosecuting corporations or individuals within the business world for conduct amounting to international crime. Joanna Kyriakakis surveys the state of the art in the field, highlighting the case for the international criminal justice project to engage more fully with the role industry can play in atrocity. From the post World War II era to contemporary international criminal courts and tribunals and the activities of domestic criminal justice agencies, this book analyses cases and international law reform efforts aimed at accounting for business involvement in international crimes. The major debates and ensuing challenges are examined, arguing that corporate accountability under international criminal law is crucial in achieving the objectives of international criminal justice. Students, practitioners and academics of international criminal law will find this a beneficial read, particularly through its engagement with the key contemporary debate around the extension of international criminal law to business actors. The exploration of how to address the global governance gap and better account for human rights abuses in transnational corporate activity will also make this an invigorating book for business and human rights scholars.