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United Kingdom makes major financial contribution to the EITI international management

United Kingdom makes major financial contribution to the EITI international management

The EITI has received over USD 1 million in funding from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

The Government of the United Kingdom affirmed its leadership role in fighting corruption and its support of efforts to reveal real owners ahead of the Open Government Partnership Summit in Paris this December.

The funds will go towards financing the core activities of the EITI's Board and Secretariat (USD 355,000), especially supporting countries with the implementation of the EITI Standard, as well as towards commodity trading transparency (USD 60,000) and beneficial ownership disclosure (USD 620,000).

This contribution is the most significant since the DFID started co-financing the EITI in 2008. Their cumulative funding so far has reached USD 4 million over nine years.

The International management of the EITI, consisting of the Board, the Chair and the International Secretariat, is funded by contributions from supporting countries (61% in 2015), companies (39%) and civil society organisations.

Funding strengthens EITI’s role in beneficial ownership and commodity trading transparency

The project-specific funding will allow the EITI to continue its work in supporting implementing countries to determine the beneficial owners of companies involved in their extractives sector, and the declaration of revenues of state-owned enterprises from selling oil, gas and minerals. 

By 2020, implementing countries have to ensure that all oil, gas and mining companies that bid for, operate or invest in extractive projects in their countries disclose their real owners. It has been estimated that developing countries lose USD 1 trillion each year as a result of corrupt or illegal deals, many of which involve anonymous companies. The disclosure of beneficial owners can help in exposing political connections or other irregularities in the allocation of the right to extract. By January 2017 countries will present their roadmaps on how they intend to disclose their beneficial owners by 2020.

In the past month the EITI, aided by partner organisations, has undertaken targeted efforts on transparency in commodity trading. These support a group of countries with significant selling activities by the state or state-owned enterprises to disclose the “in-kind” revenues and the systems.

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Countries
United Kingdom