Euro MP Sharon Bowles, who chairs the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has renewed calls for better corporate transparency in the developing world following revelations that approximately £690 million paid to the Nigerian government by subsidiaries of Shell and ENI ended up in the hands of former Nigerian oil minister and convicted money launderer, Dan Etete.
For years big multinational companies have been able to keep their business dealings in the developing world a secret but new EU proposals will require companies to make public details of their activities on a country-by-country and project-by-project basis.
However, Ms Bowles believes these ‘projects’ need to be properly defined to ensure that payments, such as the one made by Shell and ENI, are reported. Continue reading