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Every year a staggering number of unidentified shell corporations succeed in hiding perpetrators of terrorist financing, corruption and illegal arms trades, but the degree to which firms flout global identification standards remains unknown. Adopting a unique, experimental methodology, Global Shell Games attempts to unveil the sordid world of anonymous shell corporations. Posing as twenty-one different international consultants, the authors approached nearly 4,000 services in over 180 countries to discover just how easy it is to form an untraceable company. Combining rigorous quantitative analysis, qualitative investigation of responses and lurid news reports, this book makes a significant research contribution to compliance with international law and international crime and terrorism whilst offering a novel, new approach to the field of political science research. Global Shell Games is an invaluable resource for scholars of international relations, and a fascinating, accessible read for anyone interested in learning about worldwide criminal practice in corporate finance

El fenomen de les corporacions multinacionals (MNCs) que assumeixen activitats tradicionals de govern dins de la seva agenda de Responsabilitat Social Corporativa (RSC) està rebent una creixent atenció degut als desafiaments que aquest fet suposa tant per la legitimitat d'aquestes mateixes corporacions com per al sistema democràtic en general. Darrerament "political CSR" ha esdevingut el nou marc teòric dins de la literatura sobre ètica empresarial i sobre societat i negocis. És en aquest marc des d'on es discuteixen aquest paper polític de les empreses i les responsabilitats que d'ell se'n deriven. Els estudis sobre "political CSR" assumeixen que les MNCs haurien d'implicar-se (com de fet ja ho fan) en activitats de regulació social i política (Scherer & Palazzo, 2007), així com operar també com a nou proveïdors de serveis públics (Scherer & Palazzo, 2011; Scherer, Palazzo, & Matten, 2009). Tanmateix, i malgrat les creixents demandes normatives i les corresponents preocupacions sobre el paper de les MNCs minant el bé comú, a penes s'ha fet recerca ni sobre el grau en el què aquestes firmes poden i realment s'ajusten a aquestes normes ni sobre la forma en què tot el fenòmen afecta als principals agents implicats. Aquesta tesi doctoral pren com a punt de partida aquestos reptes per realitzar una investigació empírica i sistemàtica de l'assumpte. La companyia Royal Ducth Shell és particularment apropiada tant per les seves característiques pròpies distintives, com pel complex context en el què opera i l'accès a dades disponible. La tesis planteja una nova perspectiva sobre el paper polític i de les responsabilitats de les MNCs que vindria a ampliar les actuals aportacions teòriques sobre l'abast d'aquestes responsabilitats i sobre les condicions de legitimitat de les corporacions. A més, conceptualitza un nou marc teòric de les respostes de les MNCs a les demandes de la "political CSR", de més complexe i dinàmic que l'existent. En particular, la tesi detalla les repostes de l'empresa, que romanien ...

The individual in international law — Nationality — Of corporations — Subsidiary of foreign corporation — Criteria for determining nationality — Seat, centre of operations and management in France — The law of France

Foreign direct liability litigation against businesses is still a growing trend in European domestic courts, going on for over two decades. With absent effective remedies in host states, victims of human rights abuses committed by transnational corporations' subsidiaries try to get access to remedy in the courts of the home states of the parent companies. A crucial factor for whether such cases can succeed, is the viability of the claims against the parent companies allegedly involved in the abuses. The principal legal route that victims have used to hold parent companies liable is through common law negligence claims.

Foreign direct liability litigation against businesses is still a growing trend in European domestic courts, going on for over two decades. With absent effective remedies in host states, victims of human rights abuses committed by transnational corporations' subsidiaries try to get access to remedy in the courts of the home states of the parent companies. A crucial factor for whether such cases can succeed, is the viability of the claims against the parent companies allegedly involved in the abuses. The principal legal route that victims have used to hold parent companies liable is through common law negligence claims.

AbstractThe multilateral adoption of the automatic exchange of information (AEI) on bank accounts held by nonresidents was a breakthrough in the fight against cross‐border tax evasion, which led to a substantial reduction in the value of bank deposits and investment portfolios in traditional tax havens. However, there is suspicion that sophisticated tax evaders engage in regulatory arbitrage of AEI provisions. We examine whether two widely discussed secrecy schemes, namely golden visas and anonymous trusts and shell corporations, have been used to circumvent information reporting. Relying on a difference‐in‐difference design, we only find scattered evidence for use of the secrecy schemes. Overall, our results suggest that regulatory arbitrage is not yet widespread, but it seems to increase over time. We thus provide evidence for the current effectiveness of the AEI but also show that closing remaining loopholes is of utmost importance. We link our findings to debates about the (im)possibility of re‐embedding neoliberal globalization.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses possible money laundering by U.S. corporations formed by Russian entities. It is easy for foreign entities to hide their identities while forming shell corporations that can be used for money laundering. GAO investigated the following two Delaware corporations that are suspected of money laundering: Euro-American Corporate Services, Inc. and International Business Creations. Suspicious banking activity involved correspondent bank accounts and wire transfers of funds from Eastern European banks through U.S. banks to other Eastern European banks. Two U.S. banks, Citibank of New York and Commercial Bank of San Francisco, violated their customer policies by failing to close the accounts of clients who did not comply with the bank's requirement to appear at the bank in person within 30 days of opening an account. These banks facilitated the transfer of about $1 billion from Eastern Europe, through U.S. banks, and back to Eastern Europe by corporations formed for Russian brokers. It is possible that these transfers were used to launder money. GAO referred the matter to appropriate law enforcement authorities."

This article reports on research based on three crucial aspects of the current global economic situation. First is the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in establishing and constructing international cooperation at the supranational level. Second is the policy of sanctions against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. And third is the cooperation of Royal Dutch Shell with Russia's Gazprom despite the political, economic and technological sanctions imposed on Russian companies and economic sectors. Analyzing Shell's policy on the Russian energy market should reveal some kind of the managing principle that not only Shell but most TNCs follow in taking the political atmosphere into consideration, while striving to avoid any related restrictions. The research methodology uses analytical, ultimate analysis and functional methods. The analytical method helped to lay the theoretical foundation of the research. Modern TNCs are deeply engaged in the process of economic globalization. To expand their influence, such companies create economic conditions for organizing international production with local markets and for international markets for capital, labour, and scientific and consulting services. The ultimate analysis method revealed the following pattern: in struggling for the global market, TNCs raise the level of competition, which creates a permanent need for technical innovations and scientific progress. The functional analysis method demonstrated a casual relationship in modern economic development: by assisting capital turnover and labour and transport mobility, TNCs contribute significantly to economic growth and development. The first part of the article focuses on the history and methodology of the genesis and development of TNCs as actors in global economic relations. It also reviews the current role of TNCs in the global economy. The second part of the article examines the cooperation between Shell and Gazprom embodied in their joint realization of the Sakhalin-2 project and the prospects for the Sakhalin-3 project. The final section of the article contains analytical conclusions and theoretical recommendations. The authors came to two main conclusions. First, only transparent cooperation based on fair principles can guarantee stable economic ties between countries or any kind of global companies. Second, the accumulated experience in any field of cooperation provides quick and efficient payback of even the largest project. And even if the restrictions may correct (or try to correct) only in the short term but lay a foundation for long-term regress in relations, even one successful project, based on mutual trust and respect, can lead to a breakthrough in both economic and political relations between the countries.