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Location: Cedar Hall, HQ1-1-660
Video on demand coming soon.
A high-level panel discussion will launch the IMF’s new guide on transparency of beneficial ownership, Unmasking Control: A Guide to Beneficial Ownership Transparency.
The lack of transparency of corporate structures negatively impacts the economies of countries. Revelations such as the Pandora Papers and Suisse Secrets, court cases and media reports have spotlighted how corporate structures might be being misused by criminals, including to hide their identities, to move money illegally across borders and to enjoy the proceeds of crime with impunity. More recently, ongoing efforts by countries to commit to transparency in procurement to safeguard funds aimed for COVID-19 relief have also demonstrated the importance of having access to information on the ownership and control of corporate structures.
This panel discussion led by the IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li and comprising Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President Raja Kumar, and Transparency International Vice Chair Rueben Lifuka will discuss ongoing global efforts to combat the misuse of corporate structures, why this matters for several agendas related to financial integrity, governance and transparency, and more broadly for countries’ macroeconomy stability, and why transparency of beneficial ownership information (knowing the real persons who own and control these corporate structures) is important for the Fund’s members and the greater international community.
Unmasking Control: A Guide to Beneficial Ownership Transparency, is the product of research funded by the IMF’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) II and III Thematic Fund, and was therefore made possible thanks to partners' generous funding (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).
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Rhoda Weeks-Brown General Counsel and Director of the IMF’s Legal Department, IMF |
Rhoda Weeks-Brown is General Counsel and Director of the IMF’s Legal Department. She advises the IMF’s Executive Board, management, staff and country membership on all legal aspects of the IMF’s operations, including its lending, regulatory and advisory functions.
Prior to her appointment as General Counsel and Director, Ms. Weeks-Brown also served as Deputy Director in the IMF’s Communications Department, where she led IMF communications and outreach in Africa, Asia and Europe; played a key role in the transformation of the IMF’s communications strategy; and led IMF strategic communications on key legal and policy topics.
Before joining the IMF, Ms. Weeks-Brown worked at a large corporate law firm in Washington DC. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Economics (summa cum laude) from Howard University. She is member of the Bar in New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia and a member of the Supreme Court Bar. She is also a member the Committee on International Monetary Law of the International Law Association (MOCOMILA), and of the Consultative Group for the Sovereign Debt Forum.
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Bo Li Deputy Managing Director, IMF |
Mr. Bo Li assumed the role of Deputy Managing Director at the IMF on August 23, 2021. He is responsible for the IMF’s work on about 90 countries as well as on a wide range of policy issues.
Before joining the IMF, Mr. Li worked for many years at the People’s Bank of China, most recently as Deputy Governor. He earlier headed the Monetary Policy, Monetary Policy II, and Legal and Regulation Departments, where he played an important role in the reform of state-owned banks, the drafting of China’s anti-money-laundering law, the internationalization of the renminbi, and the establishment of China’s macroprudential policy framework.
Outside of the PBoC, Mr. Li served as Vice Mayor of Chongqing—China’s largest municipality, with a population of over 30 million—where he oversaw the city’s financial-sector development, international trade, and foreign direct investment. Mr. Li was also Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. He started his career at the New York law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he was a practicing attorney for five years.
Mr. Li holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and an M.A. from Boston University, both in economics, as well as a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He received his undergraduate education from Renmin University of China in Beijing.
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T. Raja Kumar President, Financial Action Task Force |
T. Raja Kumar began a two-year term as President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on 1 July 2022.
He currently serves as the Senior Advisor (International) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, advising on international policy development, partnerships and engagement. Prior to this, he was Deputy Secretary (International) at the Ministry from January 2015 to July 2021 and was concurrently the Chief Executive of the Home Team Academy between 2014 to 2018.
Mr. Raja Kumar holds a LLB (Hons.) degree from the National University of Singapore, and a Masters of Philosophy (Criminology & Law) from Cambridge University. He attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 2006.
Mr. Raja Kumar is a Board Member of the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore and also serves as Adjunct Professor in the School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
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Rueben Lifuka Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Transparency International |
Rueben Lifuka is an architect and an environmental consultant and managing partner with Riverine Zambia Limited. He is the founder and a director of the consultancy firm Dialogue Africa and chair of the National Governing Council of the Africa Peer Review Mechanism process in Zambia. He serves on the boards of several organisations including Build IT International - Zambia and the International Anti-Corruption conference. Between 2011-2013 he served on a technical committee appointed by the President of the Republic of Zambia to draft a new national constitution. He was president of Transparency International Zambia from 2007 to 2012 and was re-elected to this position in 2017. He was elected to the Transparency International board in 2008 and again in 2011 and 2017.
