How exposing anonymous companies could cut down on crime - Global Witness

Kako bi razotkrivanje anonimnih firmi moglo da smanji kriminal - Global Vitnes (Global Witness)

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

For many of us,

Za mnoge od nas,

a typical day involves interactions with hundreds of companies.

tipičan dan podrazumeva kontakt sa stotinama firmi.

Buying their goods, using their services,

Kupujemo njihovu robu, koristimo usluge,

even wearing their names.

čak nosimo njihova imena.

Corporations and companies

Korporacije i firme

have become such a familiar part of the modern landscape

su postale dobro poznat deo savremenog pejzaža

that it's easy to forget they're artificial entities

te se lako zaboravlja da su to veštačke tvorevine,

created to allow real people to do business.

stvorene kako bi omogućile stvarnim ljudima da posluju.

But there are some types of companies

Međutim, postoje određene firme

that aren't engaged in any business at all.

koje se ne bave nikakvim poslom.

Instead, these anonymous companies

Umesto toga, ove anonimne firme

exist mainly to disguise people doing things

postoje uglavnom da bi prikrile ljude koji se bave poslovima

they'd rather not have the public know about.

za koje ne bi voleli da sazna javnost.

And these people go to great lengths to hide any links between their names

I ovi ljudi su spremni na sve da bi prikrili veze između svojih imena

and the companies they own.

i firmi koje poseduju.

The life of an anonymous company

Život anonimne kompanije

usually begins in what's known as a secrecy jurisdiction,

obično počinje onim što je poznato kao poverljivo zakonodavstvo,

a place whose laws allow new companies to be registered

mesto čiji zakoni omogućuju novim firmama da budu registrovane

with little disclosure about who owns or controls them.

uz malo obelodanjivanja toga ko ih poseduje ili kontroliše.

Some may simply not require collecting that information.

Neka mesta uopšte ne zahtevaju sakupljanje tih informacija.

Others may collect it,

Druga mogu da ih sakupe,

but make it nearly inaccessible to anyone else.

ali su one gotovo nedostupne trećim licima.

And the lack of incentive to verify companies' real owners

A odsustvo podsticaja da se proveravaju pravi vlasnici firmi,

makes it easy for people to cover their tracks.

olakšava ljudima da prikriju svoje tragove.

For example, someone may register a company in the name of a relative,

Na primer, neko može da registruje firmu na ime nekog člana rodbine,

an associate,

ortaka

or even a nominee director

ili čak vršioca dužnosti direktora

who acts on instruction from the company's actual owner

koji izvršava naređenja pravog vlasnika firme,

while keeping their name confidential.

koji svoje ime čuva u tajnosti.

Once registered, a company can do many of the same things as a human being,

Kada je registrovana, firma može da radi mnoge stvari kao i ljudska bića,

like opening bank accounts,

poput otvaranja računa u banci,

buying and owning assets,

kupovine i posedovanja imovine

and transferring money.

i transfera novca.

What's more, it can be listed as the owner of other companies,

Štaviše, može da bude navedena kao vlasnik drugih firmi,

including ones opened in places with stricter disclosure rules.

uključujući i one koje su otvorene na mestima sa strožim pravilima.

This allows someone to create a complex world-wide chain of ownership

Ovo dozvoljava pojedincima da stvore složen lanac vlasništva širom sveta,

that can take years to unravel.

kome su potrebne godine da se razotkrije.

A company based in the U.S.

Firma smeštena u SAD-u,

may be wholly owned by another one in Liechtenstein,

može u potpunosti da bude u vlasništvu druge, koja je u Lihtenštajnu,

which is owned in turn by one in the British Virgin Islands.

a koju, pak, poseduje firma na Britanskim Devičanskim Ostrvima.

And an anonymous company can be transferred to a new owner at any time

A anonimna firma može u bilo kom momentu da promeni vlasnika

with no public record of the change.

bez javno dostupnih zapisa o promeni.

So why all the anonymity?

Dakle, čemu anonimnost?

Defenders of financial secrecy argue that wealthy individuals need it

Branioci poverljivosti finansija tvrde da je potrebna imućnim pojedincima

to avoid intrusive media attention

kako bi izbegli nametljivu pažnju medija

and threats to personal security.

i pretnje ličnoj sigurnosti.

But while this may sometimes be justified,

No, dok je ovo ponekad opravdano,

anonymous companies play a role in almost every type of economic crime,

anonimne firme imaju ulogu u skoro svim oblicima ekonomskog zločina,

including many major corruption cases.

uključujući najveće slučajeve korupcije.

They are used by corporations evading taxes,

Koriste ih firme da bi izbegle poreze,

rogue governments skirting sanctions,

osione vlade da bi zaobišle sankcije,

terrorists buying arms,

teroristi da bi kupovali oružje

and dictators financing wars.

i diktatori da bi finansirali ratove.

Organized crime groups launder their profits through anonymous companies.

Organizovane kriminalne grupe peru novac preko anonimnih firmi.

Corrupt government officials award valuable contracts

Korumpirani vladini zvaničnici dodeljuju vredne ugovore

to corporations they secretly own.

korporacijama koje tajno poseduju.

International oligarchs with criminal connections or questionable pasts

Internacionalni oligarsi s kriminalnim vezama ili upitne prošlosti,

have used anonymous companies to discretely buy luxury apartments

koristili su anonimne kompanije da bi diskretno kupovali luksuzne apartmane

in cities like London and New York City,

u gradovima, poput Londona i Njujorka,

keeping them as safe stores of wealth.

koristeći ih kao sigurne zalihe bogatstva.

And even when criminals are convicted,

Čak i kada osude kriminalce,

their anonymously held assets

imovinu koju anonimno poseduju,

may be difficult for authorities to locate or seize,

vlastima može da bude teško da lociraju ili zaplene,

making it harder for victims to be compensated.

što otežava žrtvama da dobiju kompenzaciju.

Efforts are now underway to chip away at these crime-enabling mechanisms.

U toku su pokušaji da se naruše ovi mehanizmi koji omogućuju zločine.

International authorities and NGOs

Internacionalne vlasti i NVO

have called for requiring companies to state who ultimately makes their decisions

su uputile zahtev firmama da se izjasne ko u njima odlučuje

and benefits from their assets.

i ko ima korist od njihove imovine.

But while progress is being made,

No, dok se postiže napredak,

international cooperation has been difficult to achieve,

teško je ostvariti međunarodnu saradnju

as governments that profit from registering anonymous companies

jer su vlade koje imaju korist od registrovanih anonimnih firmi

are reluctant to lose business.

nevoljne da izgube posao.

And some of the most popular places for this practice

A neka od najpopularnijih mesta za ovu praksu

are located not on remote, tropical tax shelters,

nisu locirana na udaljenim, tropskim poreskim utočištima,

but within the same advanced nations which claim to be leading the fight

već unutar baš tih naprednih nacija koje tvrde da predvode bitku

for global financial transparency.

za globalnu finansijsku transparentnost.

But still, it's a fight worth fighting.

Ali ovo je i dalje bitka u kojoj se vredi boriti.

Closing the legal loopholes that enable anonymous companies

Zatvaranje rupa u zakonu koje dozvoljavaju postojanje anonimnih firmi,

would help us cut down on corruption and illegal activity.

bi nam pomoglo da smanjimo korupciju i nelegalne aktivnosti.

It would also allow us, as the general public,

Takođe bi omogućilo nama, javnosti,

to better understand the flow of enormous sums of money

da bolje razumemo tokove ogromnih suma novca

that impact politics, our daily lives, and the health of our world.

koje utiču na politiku, našu svakodnevicu i na zdravlje našeg sveta.

[Više o anonimnim firmama saznajte u TED govoru Šarmijan Guč]