Charmian Gooch: My wish: To launch a new era of openness in business

Summary

In this compelling talk, the speaker addresses the global issue of anonymous companies, which facilitate the commission of severe crimes by obscuring the identities of those responsible. The speaker, a lifelong advocate for transparency, shares personal anecdotes and experiences from their work with Global Witness, an organization dedicated to investigating and exposing the misuse of corporate structures for illicit activities. The talk concludes with a call to action for global citizens to join a movement advocating for public registries that reveal the true owners of companies, thereby promoting corporate accountability and the public good.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The speaker addresses the global issue of anonymous companies, which can be used to hide the identities of those involved in serious crimes.
• 🔍 Anonymous companies make it difficult to trace the individuals responsible for activities like funding conflicts, state looting, and environmental destruction.
• 💡 The speaker's background as a 'lifelong troublemaker' and questioner of authority led to the founding of Global Witness, an organization focused on investigating and campaigning against such injustices.
• 💼 Global Witness is a team of campaigners, investigators, journalists, and lawyers dedicated to uncovering the truth behind the misuse of companies for illicit purposes.
• 💰 The organization has exposed cases where anonymous companies have been used to deprive citizens of billions of dollars, as seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• 🌳 Examples of environmental destruction linked to anonymous companies include deforestation in Malaysia and attempts to grab land in Liberia.
• 🎥 Undercover investigations by Global Witness have captured the inner workings of how anonymous companies are used in corrupt deals.
• 🏢 The ease with which one can set up an anonymous company, even in developed countries like the UK and the US, highlights the need for greater transparency.
• 🌍 The speaker calls for a global conversation and legal changes to create public registries that reveal the true owners of companies, ending the misuse of anonymous companies.
• 📈 There is growing momentum for this change, with support from the UK government and the European Parliament, indicating a potential shift towards greater corporate transparency.

Q & A

What is the main problem discussed in the transcript?

The main problem discussed is the existence of anonymous companies, which allow individuals to hide their identities and evade accountability for crimes and corruption, often with legal structures.

What is the role of Global Witness as mentioned in the transcript?

Global Witness is a team of campaigners, investigators, journalists, and lawyers that investigates and reports on individuals and entities responsible for funding conflict, state looting, and environmental destruction, and campaigns for systemic change.

How does the issue of anonymous companies relate to natural resource-rich countries?

Many countries rich in natural resources like oil, diamonds, or timber are home to some of the poorest people, and the injustices there are often facilitated by business practices such as the use of anonymous companies.

Can you give an example of how anonymous companies have been misused as per the transcript?

Yes, one example is in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where anonymous companies were used in secretive deals that deprived citizens of over a billion dollars, which is twice the country's health and education budget combined.

What is the process of setting up an anonymous company as described in the transcript?

The process involves choosing a location, selecting a company service provider online, picking a company type, providing a contact name and address (which doesn't have to be one's own), adding an owner (which can be a nominee or another company), and making a payment to set up the company.

Why is it concerning that anonymous companies can be easily set up in places like London and the U.S.?

It is concerning because these locations are not typically associated with secrecy, yet they offer legal frameworks that allow for the easy creation of anonymous companies, which can be misused for criminal activities and corruption.

What is the significance of the nightclub fire incident in Buenos Aires mentioned in the transcript?

The nightclub fire incident in Buenos Aires is significant because it resulted in numerous deaths and injuries, and the investigation into the responsible parties was complicated by the use of anonymous companies, highlighting the real-world impact of such entities.

What is the speaker's wish for the future regarding anonymous companies?

The speaker wishes for a global change in laws to create public registries listing the true owners of companies, making this information accessible to everyone, thereby preventing the misuse of companies for anonymous and illicit activities.

How does the speaker suggest we can work towards ending anonymous companies?

The speaker suggests that we can work towards ending anonymous companies by igniting world opinion, changing laws globally to create public registries of company owners, and pushing politicians to support this cause.

What role does the TED community have in the speaker's vision for ending anonymous companies?

The TED community is seen as a group of creative and innovative thinkers and doers who can make a crucial difference by supporting the campaign, spreading the word, and potentially using their technical skills to create a prototype public registry.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 The Scourge of Anonymous Companies

The speaker begins by introducing the global issue of anonymous companies, which are entities that obscure the identities of those responsible for their actions. These companies are implicated in a range of crimes and injustices, from funding wars to environmental destruction. The speaker's background as a troublemaker and questioner is shared, leading to the formation of Global Witness, an organization dedicated to investigating and campaigning against such injustices. The narrative then shifts to specific examples of how anonymous companies have been used to deprive citizens of poor countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo of billions of dollars, and the broader implications for global corruption and crime.

05:01

🌍 Unmasking the Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies

This section delves into the mechanics of setting up an anonymous company, illustrating how simple and legal it is to do so, especially in places like the U.K. and the U.S., particularly in states like Delaware. The process involves minimal identification and can be completed online through service providers. The speaker highlights how nominees or other companies can be used as stand-ins for real owners, and how adding layers of companies can further obscure the true beneficiaries. The ease and legality of this process are contrasted with the significant harm it can cause, such as enabling tax evasion, corruption, and even supporting criminal activities like drug cartels.

10:04

🔍 The Human Cost of Corporate Anonymity

The speaker shares a haunting example of a tragic fire in a nightclub in Buenos Aires, where anonymous companies were used to obscure the owners' identities, complicating the search for those responsible for the disaster. This story underscores the human cost of corporate anonymity and the need for transparency. The speaker argues that the current lack of global conversation on the misuse of companies is unacceptable and calls for a change in the law to require public registries of company owners. The potential benefits of such transparency are discussed, including its impact on law enforcement and the public's right to know.

15:05

🌟 A Call to Action for Global Transparency

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker issues a call to action for global citizens, innovators, and business leaders to join the fight against anonymous companies. The goal is to change laws globally to create public registries listing the true owners of companies, which would be a game-changer in the fight against corruption and crime. The speaker encourages the audience to join a campaign, use technology to create prototypes, and support political efforts to bring about this change. The momentum for such change is acknowledged, with the U.K. and European Parliament already showing support, but the need for further global action, particularly from the U.S., is emphasized.

Keywords

💡Anonymous Companies

Anonymous companies refer to business entities where the true owners are hidden or undisclosed, often for the purpose of evading taxes, facilitating corruption, or engaging in other illicit activities. In the video, the speaker discusses how these entities are used to fund wars, steal from citizens, and destroy the environment, making them a central issue in the fight for transparency and accountability. Examples from the script include the Democratic Republic of Congo, where anonymous companies were used in deals that deprived citizens of over a billion dollars.

💡Global Witness

Global Witness is an organization mentioned in the script that investigates and campaigns against environmental abuses, corruption, and associated human rights abuses. It is highlighted as an example of an entity that is actively working to expose the misuse of anonymous companies and to bring about systemic change. The speaker's involvement with Global Witness underscores the personal commitment to the cause and the organization's role in the narrative.

💡State Looting

State looting, as mentioned in the script, refers to the act of government officials or those in power stealing from their own country's treasury, often through corrupt practices. This term is used to illustrate the scale of financial crimes that can be facilitated by anonymous companies, where the funds stolen from citizens are siphoned off and hidden, making it difficult to trace and recover.

💡Campaigning

Campaigning in the context of the video refers to the organized effort to bring about social, political, or environmental change. The speaker discusses how Global Witness and similar organizations campaign hard to change the system that allows for anonymous companies to exist, emphasizing the importance of collective action in addressing global issues.

💡Natural Resources

Natural resources such as oil, diamonds, or timber are highlighted as a common factor in the video. The speaker points out the paradox where countries rich in these resources often have some of the poorest populations, suggesting that the mismanagement and exploitation of these resources, facilitated by anonymous companies, contribute to this poverty.

💡Political Corruption

Political corruption is a recurring theme in the script, where the speaker discusses how anonymous companies are used to hide the identities of those involved in corrupt practices. The example of Sarawak, Malaysia, is given where political corruption led to the destruction of forests, and anonymous companies were used to conduct dubious deals.

💡Sanctions Busting

Sanctions busting refers to the act of circumventing economic sanctions imposed on a country or individual. The video mentions how anonymous companies can be used for this purpose, as exemplified by the Iranian government's ownership of a building in Manhattan through a series of front companies, despite American sanctions.

💡Public Registries

Public registries are proposed as a solution in the video to the problem of anonymous companies. These would be databases listing the true owners of companies, accessible to the public, law enforcement, and businesses. The speaker argues for the creation of such registries as a means to increase transparency and prevent the misuse of companies for illicit activities.

💡Transparency

Transparency in the video is discussed as a crucial element in the fight against corruption and the misuse of anonymous companies. It refers to the openness and clarity with which information about company ownership and operations is shared. The speaker advocates for a more transparent business environment where the identities of company owners are known, thereby preventing the use of companies for nefarious purposes.

💡Accountability

Accountability is a key concept in the video, emphasizing the need for those who commit crimes or engage in unethical practices to be held responsible for their actions. The speaker argues that anonymous companies often allow individuals to escape accountability by hiding their identities, which is a significant barrier to justice and reform.

💡Momentum

Momentum in the context of the video refers to the growing support and action towards a particular cause or goal. The speaker mentions the momentum building around the issue of anonymous companies, with various governments and organizations coming on board to support public registries, indicating a shift in global attitudes and a potential for significant change.

Highlights

Anonymous companies are a global problem, making it difficult to identify those responsible for serious crimes.

The speaker's background as a troublemaker and questioner of authority shaped their career.

Global Witness, a team of 80, campaigns to uncover those responsible for funding conflict, state looting, and environmental destruction.

Anonymous companies enable injustice by facilitating tax evasion, corruption, and hiding the identities of criminals.

Examples of anonymous companies' involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia's deforestation.

Anonymous companies are used by criminals like the Mexican drug cartel Zetas to launder money.

Anonymous companies can be set up easily and legally, even in places like the U.K. and the U.S.

Setting up an anonymous company in Delaware can be done with minimal identification, less than required for a library card.

The process of creating an anonymous company online involves choosing a service provider, company type, and nominee owners.

Anonymous companies can have multiple layers, making it nearly impossible to trace the real owners.

The lack of transparency in company ownership serves the interests of a few at the expense of the public good.

A tragic example of anonymous companies: the Buenos Aires nightclub fire, where identifying the responsible parties was difficult.

The speaker calls for a global change in laws to create public registries listing the true owners of companies.

The potential impact of a public registry of company owners, making it a game changer for transparency.

The speaker encourages the TED community to support the campaign for transparency in company ownership.

The U.K. government and the European Parliament have shown support for public registries of company owners.

The need for a global conversation on the acceptable use of company structures and the end of anonymous companies.

Transcripts

I've come here today

to talk to you about a problem.

It's a very simple yet devastating problem,

one that spans the globe

and is affecting all of us.

The problem is

anonymous companies.

It sounds like a really dry and technical thing,

doesn't it?

But anonymous companies are making it difficult

and sometimes impossible

to find out

the actual human beings responsible

sometimes for really terrible crimes.

So, why am I here talking to all of you?

Well, I guess I am a lifelong troublemaker

and when my parents taught my twin brother and I

to question authority,

I don't think they knew where it might lead.

(Laughter)

And, they probably really regretted it

during my stroppy teenage years when, predictably,

I questioned their authority a lot.

And a lot of my school teachers

didn't appreciate it much either.

You see, since the age of about five

I've always asked the question, but why?

But why does the Earth go around the sun?

But why is blood red?

But why do I have to go to school?

But why do I have to respect the teachers

and authority?

And little did I realize

that this question would become the basis

of everything I would do.

And so it was

in my twenties, a long time ago,

that one rainy Sunday afternoon in North London

I was sitting with Simon Taylor

and Patrick Alley

and we were busy stuffing envelopes

for a mail out in the office of the campaign group

where we worked at the time.

And as usual, we were talking about the world's problems.

And in particular, we were talking about

the civil war in Cambodia.

And we had talked about that many, many times before.

But then suddenly we stopped

and looked at each other

and said, but why don't we try and change this?

And from that slightly crazy question,

over two decades

and many campaigns later,

including alerting the world

to the problem of blood diamonds funding war,

from that crazy question,

Global Witness is now an 80-strong team

of campaigners, investigators, journalists and lawyers.

And we're all driven by the same belief,

that change really is possible.

So, what exactly does Global Witness do?

We investigate, we report,

to uncover the people really responsible

for funding conflict --

for stealing millions from citizens around the world,

also known as state looting,

and for destroying the environment.

And then we campaign hard to change the system itself.

And we're doing this because so many of the countries

rich in natural resources

like oil or diamonds or timber

are home to some of the poorest

and most dispossessed people on the planet.

And much of this injustice

is made possible

by currently accepted business practices.

And one of these is anonymous companies.

Now we've come up against anonymous companies

in lots of our investigations,

like in the Democratic Republic of Congo,

where we exposed how secretive deals

involving anonymous companies

had deprived the citizens

of one of the poorest countries on the planet

of well over a billion dollars.

That's twice the country's health and education budget combined.

Or in Liberia,

where an international predatory logging company

used front companies as it attempted to grab

a really huge chunk of Liberia's unique forests.

Or political corruption in Sarawak, Malaysia,

which has led to the destruction of much of its forests.

Well, that uses anonymous companies too.

We secretly filmed some of the family

of the former chief minister and a lawyer

as they told our undercover investigator

exactly how these dubious deals are done

using such companies.

And the awful thing is,

there are so many other examples out there

from all walks of life.

This truly is a scandal of epic proportions

hidden in plain sight.

Whether it's the ruthless Mexican drugs cartel,

the Zetas,

who use anonymous companies to launder profits

while their drugs-related violence

is tearing communities apart across the Americas.

Or the anonymous company,

which bought up Americans' tax debts,

piled on the legal fees

and then gave homeowners a choice:

Pay up or lose your home.

Imagine being threatened with losing your home

sometimes over a debt of just a few hundred dollars,

and not being able to find out

who you were really up against.

Now anonymous companies

are great for sanctions busting too.

As the Iranian government found out

when, through a series of front companies,

it owned a building in the very heart of Manhattan,

on Fifth Avenue,

despite American sanctions.

And Juicy Couture, home of of the velvet track suit,

and other companies were the unwitting,

unknowing tenants there.

There are just so many examples,

the horesemeat scandal in Europe,

the Italian mafia, they've used these companies

for decades.

The $100 million American Medicare fraud,

the supply of weapons to wars around the world

including those

in Eastern Europe in the early '90s.

Anonymous companies

have even come to light

in the recent revolution in the Ukraine.

But, for every case that we and others expose

there are so many more that will remain hidden away

because of the current system.

And it's just a simple truth

that some of the people responsible for outrageous crimes,

for stealing from you and me

and millions of others,

they are remaining faceless

and they are escaping accountability

and they're doing this with ease,

and they're doing it using legal structures.

And really, that is unfair.

Well, you might well ask,

what exactly is an anonymous company,

and can I really set one up, and use it,

without anyone knowing who I am?

Well, the answer is, yes you can.

But if you're anything like me,

you'll want to see some of that for yourself,

so let me show you.

Well first you need to work out

where you want to set it up.

Now, at this point you might be imagining

one of those lovely tropical island tax havens

but here's the thing,

shockingly,

my own hometown, London,

and indeed the U.K.,

is one of the best places in the world

to set up an anonymous company.

And the other, even better,

I'm afraid that's America.

Do you know, in some states across America

you need less identification

to open up a company

than you do to get a library card,

like Delaware,

which is one of the easiest places

in the world to set up an anonymous company.

Okay, so let's say it's America,

and let's say it's Delaware,

and now you can simply go online

and find yourself a company service provider.

These are the companies that can set your one up for you,

and remember, it's all legal, routine business practice.

So, here's one,

but there are plenty of others to choose from.

And having made your choice,

you then pick what type of company you want

and then fill in a contact, name and address.

But don't worry,

it doesn't have to be your name.

It can be your lawyer's

or your service provider's,

and it's not for the public record anyway.

And then you add the owner of the company.

Now this is the key part,

and again it doesn't have to be you,

because you can get creative,

because there is a whole universe out there of nominees

to choose from.

And nominees are the people that you

can legally pay to be your company's owner.

And if you don't want to involve anyone else,

it doesn't even have to be an actual human being.

It could be another company.

And then finally,

give your company a name

add a few more details and make your payment.

And then the service provider

will take a few hours or more to process it.

But there you are,

in 10 minutes of online shopping

you can create yourself an anonymous company.

And not only is it easy,

really, really easy and cheap,

it's totally legal too.

But the fun doesn't have to end there,

maybe you want to be even more anonymous.

Well, that's no problem either.

You can simply keep adding layers,

companies owned by companies.

You can have hundreds of layers

with hundreds of companies spread across

lots of different countries,

like a giant web,

each layer adds anonymity.

Each layer makes it more difficult

for law enforcement and others

to find out who the real owner is.

But whose interests is this all serving?

It might be in the interests of the company

or a particular individual,

but what about all of us, the public?

There hasn't even been a global conversation yet

about whether it's okay

to misuse companies in this way.

And what does it all mean for us?

Well, an example that really haunts me

is one I came across recently.

And it's that of a horrific fire

in a nightclub in Buenos Aires

about a decade ago.

It was the night before New Year's Eve.

Three thousand very happy revelers,

many of them teenagers,

were crammed into a space meant for 1,000.

And then tragedy struck,

a fire broke out

plastic decorations were melting from the ceiling

and toxic smoke filled the club.

So people tried to escape

only to find that some of the fire doors

had been chained shut.

Over 200 people died.

Seven hundred were injured trying to get out.

And as the victims' families and the city and the country

reeled in shock,

investigators tried to find out who was responsible.

And as they looked for the owners of the club,

they found instead anonymous companies,

and confusion surrounded the identities of those

involved with the companies.

Now ultimately, a range of people were charged

and some went to jail.

But this was an awful tragedy,

and it shouldn't have been so difficult

just to try and find out who was responsible

for those deaths.

Because in an age

when there is so much information

out there in the open,

why should this crucial information

about company ownership

stay hidden away?

Why should tax evaders, corrupt government officials,

arms traders and more,

be able to hide their identities from us, the public?

Why should this secrecy be such an accepted business practice?

Anonymous companies

might be the norm right now

but it wasn't always this way.

Companies were created

to give people a chance to innovate

and not have to put everything on the line.

Companies were created to limit financial risk,

they were never intended to be used as a moral shield.

Companies were never intended to be anonymous,

and they don't have to be.

And so I come to my wish.

My wish is for us to know

who owns and controls companies

so that they can no longer be used anonymously

against the public good.

Together let's ignite world opinion,

change the law,

and launch a new era of openness in business.

So what might this look like?

Well, imagine if you could go online

and look up the real owner of a company.

Imagine if this data were open and free,

accessible across borders

for citizens and businesses

and law enforcement alike.

Imagine what a game changer that would be.

So how are we going to do this?

Well, there is only one way.

Together, we have to change the law globally

to create public registries

which list the true owners of companies

and can be accessed by all

with no loopholes.

And yes, this is ambitious,

but there is momentum on this issue,

and over the years I have seen

the sheer power of momentum,

and it's just starting on this issue.

There is such an opportunity right now.

And the TED community

of creative and innovative thinkers and doers

across all of society

could make the crucial difference.

You really can make this change happen.

Now, a simple starting point

is the address behind me

for a Facebook page that you can join now

to support the campaign and spread the word.

It's going to be a springboard

for our global campaigning.

And the techies among you,

you could really help us create a prototype

public registry

to demonstrate what a powerful tool this could be.

Campaign groups from around the world

have come together to work on this issue.

The U.K. government is already on board;

it supports these public registries.

And just last week,

the European Parliament came on board

with a vote 600 to 30 in favor of public registries.

That is momentum.

(Applause)

But it's early days.

America still needs to come on board,

as do so many other countries.

And to succeed we will all together

need to help and push our politicians,

because without that,

real far-reaching, world-shifting change

just isn't going to happen.

Because this isn't just about changing the law,

this is about starting a conversation

about what it's okay for companies to do,

and in what ways is it acceptable to use company structures.

This isn't just a dry policy issue.

This is a human issue

which affects us all.

This is about being on the right side of history.

Global citizens, innovators, business leaders, individuals,

we need you.

Together, let's kickstart this global movement.

Let's just do it,

let's end anonymous companies.

Thank you.

(Applause)