In recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day, marked on 9 December, the EBRD cordially invited alumni to a talk by Charmian Gooch, the prominent anti-corruption activist and Co-Founder of the renowned international NGO, Global Witness – 2003 nominees of the Nobel Peace Prize and 2014 recipients of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Ms Gooch addressed the corruption problem in her speech “Banking Corrupt Money: How Anonymous Companies are Used to Loot State Coffers” at the EBRD's London headquarters at 16:30-19:00.

The event commenced with remarks from EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti.

Despite the international community’s efforts to fight corruption, recent scandals such as the Panama Papers, reveal that grand corruption continues to be a global issue that cannot be solved without also tackling the issue of anonymous companies, tax evasion, and money laundering. But what are the next steps in fighting global corruption and enhancing transparency? And what can financial institutions, such as the EBRD, do to combat the complex problem of corruption and ensure that responsible investment decisions are made?

Drawing on Global Witness’ experiences in uncovering and fighting corruption, Ms Gooch will discuss how anonymous companies are used to commit corruption, money laundering, and other criminal acts and ultimately, undermine public trust. Sharing Global Witness’ undercover investigations and research, Ms Gooch will paint a picture of the shifting landscape of how corruption is committed and concealed, and how we can all play a part in fighting it.

In recognition of her anti-corruption work, Ms Gooch was awarded the 2014 Ted Prize and was named on Bloomberg Markets’ 50 Most Influential List.

An open question and answer session followed Ms Gooch’s presentation.