the Trillion Dollar scandal

Dear Zoltan,

Over the last few weeks, you've taken action to stop the Trillion Dollar Scandal that is depriving developing countries of this almost incomprehensible amount of money every year.

THANK YOU.

More than 86,000 people stood alongside you and signed our petition. And as world leaders headed to Australia last week for the G20 Summit, we made sure they got your message calling for new transparency laws to shine a light on the murky world of global corruption.

So did they do what you asked them to? A bit. But nowhere near enough.

Anonymous shell companies that allow criminals to hide their dirty money are a big part of the problem. Leaders did all sign up to some broad principles to make sure all companies reveal who owns them, which is a good step forward. But this information won't be made truly public for you or me to see, or even the governments of many developing countries either.

Over the years we've campaigned for more transparency in the oil and mining sector, and thanks to support from our members we've had real success. So it was disappointing to see the subject almost ignored by world leaders at this summit. Making sure the wealth that many developing countries have under the ground actually reaches the people who live above it, will help reduce poverty and allow families to build brighter futures.

Together we've pushed our leaders hard, and there is no doubt our voices have been heard. But we need more than a few rays of light to beat this global scandal. We need dazzling sunshine.

So what happens next? We will keep up the pressure on the leaders to do more, encouraging those that have made already some progress to lead the way for others. We'll need your help to do that, so we hope you'll stick this one out with us. We couldn't have made it this far without you.

We won't stop until there are no more dark corners for this Trillion Dollar Scandal to hide.

Thank you.

David McNair, ONE.org

p.s. You can read more about what world leaders did and didn't do to tackle corruption at the G20 Summit on the ONE blog.

Tell G20 leaders to end the trillion dollar scandal!

Dear Zoltan,

My father, Fela Kuti, became famous in Nigeria and then globally, as founder of the musical genre Afrobeat. But it was the quest for justice that fuelled his passion.

Along with many other courageous African activists, he was harassed and imprisoned for chastising corrupt governments that pocketed public money instead of investing it in things such as education and health. Things that would help pull people out of poverty.

Today we have a global scandal on our hands, with a trail that leads to cities like London, Paris and New York. Developing countries are being deprived of a trillion dollars every year, through money laundering, tax evasion and embezzlement. The biggest heist you’ve never heard of is happening all around us - but we can stop it.

Sign our petition asking world leaders to act. One click will add your name.

The petition reads: 

Dear G20 leaders,

End the shady deals and money laundering that deprive developing countries of more than a trillion dollars every year.

In just a few weeks, leaders from the world's 20 most powerful countries are meeting in Australia. They can make new laws that tackle this problem, but only if enough of us tell them to.

Stopping this trillion dollar scandal would mean developing countries could invest millions more in education, healthcare and agriculture, helping them become self-sufficient and no longer reliant on international aid.

My father, and many others, have risked their lives to expose corruption and rally people to action, urging them to be courageous, to be bold, and to stand up for justice. We should expect no less of global leaders.

Please join me in calling for urgent action, sign the petition now.

Thank you,

Femi Kuti, 

musician and ONE member.