Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte Issues Statements on IMF Meetings

Eric LeCompte (fourth from left) speaks at a high-level debt panel with top officials from several foreign governments and Jubilee USA Board Member Aldo Caliari (far left) during last week's International Monetary Fund meetings.

by Jubilee USA Staff

Last week, Jubilee USA was actively involved at the International Monetary Fund / World Bank Spring Meetings.  In addition to co-sponsoring a high-level debt panel featuring finance ministry representatives from Argentina, Switzerland, and Grenada, Jubilee USA issueed statements on two important developments during the meeting.

You can read these statements, and their introductory paragraphs, below:

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IMF Stakeholders Express Concern over US Congress Failure to Pass Quota Reforms

 

Jubilee USA Calls on Congress to Pass IMF Voting Reforms 

Washington DC - As the Spring IMF annual meetings opened, the IMF Managing Director, G20 governments and G24 governments expressed strong disappointment around the failure of implementing the 2010 IMF Quota Reform agreement. The reforms sought to offer fairer representation in the governance and efforts of the IMF. These reforms stalled because the US Congress has not approved them. The Obama Administration recently tried to move Congress to pass the voting reforms around aid issues for the Ukraine.  Since the United States government has the dominant vote in the IMF, the reforms cannot move forward until they are approved by the US Congress.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, a religious antipoverty organization, releases the following statement:

"The whole world waits on Congress to pass an agreement that the international community urgently needs. As Congress waits, developing economies struggle to have a voice in international financial decisions. At the same time, Congress raises legitimate questions about the IMF's role in a post financial crisis world."

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IMF Reviews Anti-Money Laundering Policies

Jubilee USA Calls on Congress to Pass Legislation to Stop Anonymous Shell Companies

Washington DC - The International Monetary Fund released a statement today regarding its Executive Board's review of IMF anti-money laundering policies.

In response, Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA, a religious anti-poverty organization, releases the following statement:

"The IMF focus on money laundering and terrorism financing is important. Anonymous shell companies promote corruption that threatens poor people in every corner of the globe.

"Anonymous shell companies are part of why poor countries lose more money to tax avoidance than they receive in aid. This is a moral issue.

"Senators Grassley and Levin are asking the Senate to pass legislation that would stop this anonymous behavior."