I've come here today to talk to you about a problem. It's a very simple yet devastating problem, one that spans the globe and is affecting all of us. The problem is anonymous companies. It sounds like a really dry and technical thing, doesn't it? But anonymous companies are making it difficult and sometimes impossible to find out the actual human beings responsible sometimes for really terrible crimes. So, why am I here talking to all of you? Well, I guess I am a lifelong troublemaker and when my parents taught my twin brother and I to question authority, I don't think they knew where it might lead. (Laughter) And, they probably really regretted it during my stroppy teenage years when, predictably, I questioned their authority a lot. And a lot of my school teachers didn't appreciate it much either. You see, since the age of about five I've always asked the question, but why? But why does the Earth go around the sun? But why is blood red? But why do I have to go to school? But why do I have to respect the teachers and authority? And little did I realize that this question would become the basis of everything I would do. And so it was in my twenties, a long time ago, that one rainy Sunday afternoon in North London I was sitting with Simon Taylor and Patrick Alley and we were busy stuffing envelopes for a mail out in the office of the campaign group where we worked at the time. And as usual, we were talking about the world's problems. And in particular, we were talking about the civil war in Cambodia. And we had talked about that many, many times before. But then suddenly we stopped and looked at each other and said, but why don't we try and change this? And from that slightly crazy question, over two decades and many campaigns later, including alerting the world to the problem of blood diamonds funding war, from that crazy question, Global Witness is now an 80-strong team of campaigners, investigators, journalists and lawyers. And we're all driven by the same belief, that change really is possible.
Došla sam danas ovamo kako bih s vama razgovarala o jednom problemu. To je vrlo jednostavan, no ipak razarajući problem. Raširen je po cijelom svijetu i utječe na sve nas. Problem su anonimne tvrtke. Zvuči vrlo suhoparno i tehnički, zar ne? No, anonimne vam tvrtke otežavaju i ponekad u potpunosti onemogućavaju da saznate koji su točno ljudi odgovorni za ponekad stvarno užasne zločine. Zašto to govorim ovdje pred svima vama? Može se reći da cijeli život stvaram probleme. Kad su moji roditelji učili mog brata blizanca i mene da preispitujemo autoritet, mislim da nisu znali do čega bi to moglo dovesti. (Smijeh) Vjerojatno su to požalili tijekom mojih burnih tinejdžerskih godina, kad sam, predvidljivo, često u pitanje dovodila njihov autoritet. Ni mnogi moji učitelji u školi nisu to baš cijenili. Vidite, otprilike od svoje pete godine uvijek sam postavljala pitanje: ali zašto? Ali zašto se Zemlja okreće oko sunca? Ali zašto je krv crvene boje? Ali zašto moram ići u školu? Ali zašto moram poštovati učitelje i autoritet? Nisam ni znala da će to pitanje postati osnova svega što ću činiti. Tako je i bilo u mojim dvadesetima, prije puno vremena, jednog kišnog nedjeljnog popodneva u sjevernom Londonu. Sjedila sam sa Simonom Taylorom i Patrickom Alleyjem. Spremali smo poštu u omotnice za slanje iz grupe za kampanju gdje sam radila u to vrijeme. Kao i obično, razgovarali smo o svjetskim problemima. Konkretno, razgovarali smo o građanskom ratu u Kambodži. Razgovarali smo o tome i mnogo puta prije toga. Ali iznenada smo zastali i pogledali jedni druge i rekli, zašto ne bismo pokušali to promijeniti? Od tog pomalo suludog pitanja, tijekom dva desetljeća i nakon brojnih kampanja, uključujući i upozoravanje svijeta na problem krvavih dijamanata koji financiraju rat, od tog suludog pitanja, organizacija Global Witness sada ima tim od 80 ljudi koji se sastoji od voditelja kampanja, istraživača, novinara i odvjetnika. Sve nas vodi isto uvjerenje, da je promjena zaista moguća.
So, what exactly does Global Witness do? We investigate, we report, to uncover the people really responsible for funding conflict -- for stealing millions from citizens around the world, also known as state looting, and for destroying the environment. And then we campaign hard to change the system itself. And we're doing this because so many of the countries rich in natural resources like oil or diamonds or timber are home to some of the poorest and most dispossessed people on the planet. And much of this injustice is made possible by currently accepted business practices. And one of these is anonymous companies. Now we've come up against anonymous companies in lots of our investigations, like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we exposed how secretive deals involving anonymous companies had deprived the citizens of one of the poorest countries on the planet of well over a billion dollars. That's twice the country's health and education budget combined. Or in Liberia, where an international predatory logging company used front companies as it attempted to grab a really huge chunk of Liberia's unique forests. Or political corruption in Sarawak, Malaysia, which has led to the destruction of much of its forests. Well, that uses anonymous companies too. We secretly filmed some of the family of the former chief minister and a lawyer as they told our undercover investigator exactly how these dubious deals are done using such companies. And the awful thing is, there are so many other examples out there from all walks of life. This truly is a scandal of epic proportions hidden in plain sight. Whether it's the ruthless Mexican drugs cartel, the Zetas, who use anonymous companies to launder profits while their drugs-related violence is tearing communities apart across the Americas. Or the anonymous company, which bought up Americans' tax debts, piled on the legal fees and then gave homeowners a choice: Pay up or lose your home. Imagine being threatened with losing your home sometimes over a debt of just a few hundred dollars, and not being able to find out who you were really up against.
Pa, čime se točno bavi Global Witness? Istražujemo i izvješćujemo kako bismo razotkrili ljude koji su zaista odgovorni za financiranje sukoba -- za krađu milijuna od građana širom svijeta, odnosno takozvano pustošenje države, i za uništavanje okoliša. Vodimo i snažnu kampanju kako bismo promijenili sam sustav. Činimo to jer u toliko mnogo zemalja bogatih prirodnim resursima poput nafte ili dijamanata ili drva žive neki od najsiromšnijih i najobespravljenijih ljudi na svijetu. Velik dio te nepravde prouzrokovan je općeprihvaćenim načinima poslovanja. A jedan od njih jesu i anonimne tvrtke. Susreli smo se s anonimnim tvrtkama u mnogim našim istragama, primjerice u Demokratskoj Republici Kongo, gdje smo otkrili kako su tajni poslovi koji uključuju anonimne tvrtke uskratili građanima jedne od najsiromašnijih zemalja na svijetu preko milijardu dolara. To je dva puta više sredstava od budžeta za zdravstvo i obrazovanje te zemlje. Ili u Liberiji, gdje je međunarodna predatorska tvrtka koja se bavi sječom šuma iskoristila paravan kako bi pokušala ugrabiti velik komad liberijskih jedinstvenih šuma. Ili politička korupcija u Sarawaku u Maleziji, koja je dovela do uništenja velikog dijela njihovih šuma. Za to su također korištene anonimne tvrtke. Tajno smo snimali neke članove obitelji bivšeg guvernera i odvjetnika dok su govorili našem tajnom istražitelju kako se točno odrađuju ti sumnjivi poslovi. koristeći takve tvrtke. Užasna je stvar da postoji toliko drugih primjera iz svih vrsta djelatnosti. To je zaista skandal epskih proporcija skriven nama pred očima. To je, primjerice, besćutan meksički kartel, Zete, koji koriste anonimne tvrtke kako bi prali zaradu dok njihovo nasilje vezano uz drogu razara zajednice širom obje Amerike. Ili jedna anonimna tvrtka, koja je otkupila porezne dugove Amerikanaca, nagomilala pravne troškove i potom vlasnicima kuća dala izbor: plati ili ostaješ bez kuće. Zamislite da vam prijete oduzimanjem kuće, ponekad zbog duga od samo nekoliko stotina dolara, i da ne možete doznati s kim se zapravo suočavate.
Now anonymous companies are great for sanctions busting too. As the Iranian government found out when, through a series of front companies, it owned a building in the very heart of Manhattan, on Fifth Avenue, despite American sanctions. And Juicy Couture, home of of the velvet track suit, and other companies were the unwitting, unknowing tenants there. There are just so many examples, the horesemeat scandal in Europe, the Italian mafia, they've used these companies for decades. The $100 million American Medicare fraud, the supply of weapons to wars around the world including those in Eastern Europe in the early '90s. Anonymous companies have even come to light in the recent revolution in the Ukraine.
Anonimne tvrtke odlične su i za izbjegavanje sankcija. Kao kad se saznalo da je iranska vlada kroz niz tvrtki paravana posjedovala zgradu u samom srcu Manhattana, na Petoj aveniji, unatoč američkim sankcijama. A Juicy Couture, dom trenirke od baršuna, i druge tvrtke unajmljivale su taj prostor, a da nisu znali o čemu se radi. Ima toliko primjera -- skandal s konjskim mesom u Europi, talijanska mafija, koja je koristila takve tvrtke desetljećima. Prijevara američkog Medicarea vrijedna 100 milijuna dolara, opskrba oružjem za ratove širom svijeta uključujući one u istočnoj Europi početkom devedesetih. Anonimne tvrtke pojavile su se čak i u nedavnoj revoluciji u Ukrajini.
But, for every case that we and others expose there are so many more that will remain hidden away because of the current system. And it's just a simple truth that some of the people responsible for outrageous crimes, for stealing from you and me and millions of others, they are remaining faceless and they are escaping accountability and they're doing this with ease, and they're doing it using legal structures. And really, that is unfair. Well, you might well ask, what exactly is an anonymous company, and can I really set one up, and use it, without anyone knowing who I am? Well, the answer is, yes you can. But if you're anything like me, you'll want to see some of that for yourself, so let me show you. Well first you need to work out where you want to set it up. Now, at this point you might be imagining one of those lovely tropical island tax havens but here's the thing, shockingly, my own hometown, London, and indeed the U.K., is one of the best places in the world to set up an anonymous company. And the other, even better, I'm afraid that's America. Do you know, in some states across America you need less identification to open up a company than you do to get a library card, like Delaware, which is one of the easiest places in the world to set up an anonymous company.
No, za svaki slučaj koji razotkrijemo mi i ostali postoji toliko drugih koji ostaju skriveni zbog trenutnog sustava. Jednostavna je istina da neki od ljudi odgovornih za strašne zločine, za krađu od mene i vas i milijuna drugih, ostaju bezlični, bježe od odgovornosti rade to s lakoćom, i rade to koristeći legalne strukture. I to je zaista nepošteno. Mogli biste pitati što je to točno anonimna tvrtka, i mogu li je zaista osnovati, i koristiti je, a da nitko ne zna tko sam? Pa, odgovor je da, možete. Ali ako ste imalo poput mene, htjet ćete se u to sami uvjeriti. Dozvolite da vam pokažem. Prvo trebate odlučiti gdje je želite osnovati. Sad možda zamišljate jedan od poreznih rajeva na tropskom otoku ali u ovome je stvar. Šokantno je da je moj rodni grad, London, i cijelo Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo, jedno od najboljih mjesta na svijetu za otvaranje anonimne tvrtke. A drugo najbolje mjesto, još bolje, nažalost je Amerika. Znate li da u nekim saveznim državama trebate manje identifikacije da biste otvorli tvrtku nego da biste dobili iskaznicu u knjižnici? Primjerice u Delawareu, koji je jedno od najjednostavnijih mjesta na svijetu za osnivanje anonimne tvrtke.
Okay, so let's say it's America, and let's say it's Delaware, and now you can simply go online and find yourself a company service provider. These are the companies that can set your one up for you, and remember, it's all legal, routine business practice. So, here's one, but there are plenty of others to choose from. And having made your choice, you then pick what type of company you want and then fill in a contact, name and address. But don't worry, it doesn't have to be your name. It can be your lawyer's or your service provider's, and it's not for the public record anyway. And then you add the owner of the company. Now this is the key part, and again it doesn't have to be you, because you can get creative, because there is a whole universe out there of nominees to choose from. And nominees are the people that you can legally pay to be your company's owner. And if you don't want to involve anyone else, it doesn't even have to be an actual human being. It could be another company. And then finally, give your company a name add a few more details and make your payment. And then the service provider will take a few hours or more to process it. But there you are, in 10 minutes of online shopping you can create yourself an anonymous company. And not only is it easy, really, really easy and cheap, it's totally legal too. But the fun doesn't have to end there, maybe you want to be even more anonymous. Well, that's no problem either. You can simply keep adding layers, companies owned by companies. You can have hundreds of layers with hundreds of companies spread across lots of different countries, like a giant web, each layer adds anonymity. Each layer makes it more difficult for law enforcement and others to find out who the real owner is. But whose interests is this all serving? It might be in the interests of the company or a particular individual, but what about all of us, the public? There hasn't even been a global conversation yet about whether it's okay to misuse companies in this way. And what does it all mean for us?
OK, recimo da ste u Americi, i recimo da ste u Delawareu. Sad jednostavno možete otići online i naći si pružatelja usluga za tvrtke. To su tvrtke koje za vas mogu osnovati vašu tvrtku. Zapamtite, to je sve legalan rutinski način poslovanja. Evo jedne takve tvrtke, ali možete birati između brojnih drugih. Kad se odlučite, tada birate kakvu vrstu tvrtke želite te upišete kontakt podatke, ime i adresu. Ali ne brinite, to ne mora biti vaše ime. Može biti ime vašeg odvjetnika ili vašeg pružatelja usluge, a ti podatci ionako nisu javno dostupni. Zatim upisujete vlasnika tvrtke. To je ključni dio, opet to ne morate biti vi. Možete biti kreativni jer postoji bezbroj pogodnih kandidata koje možete odabrati. A kandidati su ljudi kojima vi možete legalno platiti da budu vlasnici vaše tvrtke. Ako ne želite uključiti nikoga drugog, to čak ne mora biti ni pravo ljudsko biće. To može biti druga tvrtka. I onda naposljetku, dajte ime svojoj tvrtci, dodajte još pokoji detalj i uplatite. Zatim će pružatelju usluge trebati nekoliko sati kako bi to obradio. Ali to je to, u 10 minuta online kupovine možete osnovati vlastitu anonimnu tvrtku. To ne samo da je lako, zaista, zaista lako i povoljno, već je i potpuno legalno. Ali ne morate stati na tome. Možda želite biti još anonimniji. Ni to nije nikakav problem. Jednostavno možete nastaviti dodavati slojeve, tvrtke koje posjeduju tvrtke. Možete imati stotine slojeva sa stotinama tvrtki raširenih u mnogo različitih zemalja, poput ogromne mreže, a svaki sloj povećava anonimnost. Svaki sloj dodatno otežava snagama reda i drugima otkrivanje pravog vlasnika. Ali čijim interesima sve ovo služi? Možda je u interesu tvrtke ili određenog pojedinca, ali što je sa svima nama, s javnošću? Dosad još nije bilo nikakvog globalnog razgovora o tome je li u redu zlorabiti tvrtke na taj način. I što to sve znači za nas?
Well, an example that really haunts me is one I came across recently. And it's that of a horrific fire in a nightclub in Buenos Aires about a decade ago. It was the night before New Year's Eve. Three thousand very happy revelers, many of them teenagers, were crammed into a space meant for 1,000. And then tragedy struck, a fire broke out plastic decorations were melting from the ceiling and toxic smoke filled the club. So people tried to escape only to find that some of the fire doors had been chained shut. Over 200 people died. Seven hundred were injured trying to get out. And as the victims' families and the city and the country reeled in shock, investigators tried to find out who was responsible. And as they looked for the owners of the club, they found instead anonymous companies, and confusion surrounded the identities of those involved with the companies. Now ultimately, a range of people were charged and some went to jail. But this was an awful tragedy, and it shouldn't have been so difficult just to try and find out who was responsible for those deaths. Because in an age when there is so much information out there in the open, why should this crucial information about company ownership stay hidden away? Why should tax evaders, corrupt government officials, arms traders and more, be able to hide their identities from us, the public? Why should this secrecy be such an accepted business practice? Anonymous companies might be the norm right now but it wasn't always this way. Companies were created to give people a chance to innovate and not have to put everything on the line. Companies were created to limit financial risk, they were never intended to be used as a moral shield. Companies were never intended to be anonymous, and they don't have to be.
Primjer koji me zaista progoni jest jedan na koji sam nedavno naišla. Radi se o stravičnom požaru u noćnom klubu u Buenos Airesu prije desetak godina. Bila je to noć prije Silvestrova. Tri tisuće dobro raspoloženih ljudi željnih provoda, mnogi od njih tinejdžeri, bilo je nagurano u prostoru namijenjenom za 1000 ljudi. I onda se dogodila tragedija, izbio je požar, plastične dekoracije topile su se sa stropa i otrovan dim ispunio je klub. Ljudi su pokušali pobjeći, ali ispostavilo se da su neki požarni izlazi bili zatvoreni lancima. Umrlo je više od 200 ljudi. Sedamsto ljudi ozlijeđeno je u pokušaju da izađu van. Dok su obitelji žrtava i grad i država bili izgubljeni u šoku, istražitelji su pokušavali otkriti tko je bio odgovoran za to. Dok su tražili vlasnike kluba, naišli su na anonimne tvrtke, a identiteti onih koji su u tim tvrtkama radili bili su potpuno nejasni. Na kraju je optuženo mnogo ljudi i neki su poslani u zatvor. Ali to je bila užasna tragedija, i nije smjelo biti tako teško samo pokušati doznati tko je odgovoran za te smrti. Jer u vremenu kad postoji toliko informacija, u potpunosti dostupnih, zašto bi te ključne informacije o vlasništvu tvrtke ostale skrivene? Zašto bi ljudi koji izbjegavaju plaćanje poreza, korumpirani vladini dužnosnici, trgovci oružjem i drugi, bili u mogućnosti sakriti svoj identitet od nas, javnosti? Zašto bi ta tajnovitost bila općeprihvaćen način poslovanja? Anonimne tvrtke možda sada i jesu norma, ali nije uvijek bilo tako. Tvrtke su stvarane kako bi ljudima dale priliku da stvaraju inovacije, a da ne moraju sve riskirati. Tvrtke su stvarane kako bi se ograničio financijski rizik, nikad nisu trebale biti korištene kao moralni štit. Tvrtke nikad nisu trebale biti anonimne, i one to ne moraju biti.
And so I come to my wish. My wish is for us to know who owns and controls companies so that they can no longer be used anonymously against the public good. Together let's ignite world opinion, change the law, and launch a new era of openness in business. So what might this look like? Well, imagine if you could go online and look up the real owner of a company. Imagine if this data were open and free, accessible across borders for citizens and businesses and law enforcement alike. Imagine what a game changer that would be. So how are we going to do this? Well, there is only one way. Together, we have to change the law globally to create public registries which list the true owners of companies and can be accessed by all with no loopholes. And yes, this is ambitious, but there is momentum on this issue, and over the years I have seen the sheer power of momentum, and it's just starting on this issue. There is such an opportunity right now. And the TED community of creative and innovative thinkers and doers across all of society could make the crucial difference. You really can make this change happen. Now, a simple starting point is the address behind me for a Facebook page that you can join now to support the campaign and spread the word. It's going to be a springboard for our global campaigning. And the techies among you, you could really help us create a prototype public registry to demonstrate what a powerful tool this could be. Campaign groups from around the world have come together to work on this issue. The U.K. government is already on board; it supports these public registries. And just last week, the European Parliament came on board with a vote 600 to 30 in favor of public registries. That is momentum. (Applause) But it's early days. America still needs to come on board, as do so many other countries. And to succeed we will all together need to help and push our politicians, because without that, real far-reaching, world-shifting change just isn't going to happen. Because this isn't just about changing the law, this is about starting a conversation about what it's okay for companies to do, and in what ways is it acceptable to use company structures. This isn't just a dry policy issue. This is a human issue which affects us all. This is about being on the right side of history. Global citizens, innovators, business leaders, individuals, we need you. Together, let's kickstart this global movement. Let's just do it, let's end anonymous companies. Thank you. (Applause)
Tako dolazim do svoje želje. Moja je želja da znamo tko posjeduje i kontrolira tvrtke tako da ih se više ne može koristiti anonimno protiv javnog dobra. Zajedno zapalimo svjetsko mišljenje, promijenimo zakon, i pokrenimo novo doba otvorenosti u poslovanju. Kako bi to moglo izgledati? Zamislite kad biste mogli otići online i potražiti tko je stvarni vlasnik neke tvrtke. Zamislite da su ti podatci dostupni i besplatni, u svim zemljama, za građane i tvrtke i provoditelje zakona. Zamislite kako bi to promijenilo pravila igre. Kako ćemo to učiniti? Postoji samo jedan način. Zajedno moramo promijeniti zakone na globalnoj razini kako bi se kreirali javni registri u kojima će biti navedeni stvarni vlasnici tvrtki i kojima će svi moći pristupiti, bez rupa u propisima. I da, to jest ambiciozno, ali ovaj problem dobio je zamah. Tijekom godina vidjela sam čistu snagu zamaha, a za ovaj problem on tek počinje. Sad se ukazala odlična prilika. TED zajednica kreativnih, inovativnih mislilaca i praktičara iz čitavog društva mogla bi imati presudan utjecaj. Zaista možete postići da dođe do ove promjene. Jednostavno mjesto za početak jest adresa iza mene, koja vodi na Facebook stranicu kojoj se možete pridružiti kako biste podržali kampanju i proširili glas o njoj. To će biti odskočna daska za našu globalnu kampanju. Kompjutoraši među vama, vi biste nam stvarno mogli pomoći stvoriti prototip javnog registra koji će demonstrirati kakav bi to moćan alat mogao biti. Grupe za kampanju iz čitavog svijeta ujedinile su se kako bi zajedno radile na tom problemu. Vlada Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva već se uključila i podržava te javne registre. Baš prošli tjedan Europski se parlament uključio glasanjem 600 naprama 30 u korist javnih registara. To je zamah. (Pljesak) Ali ovo je tek početak. Još čekamo Ameriku da se uključi, kao i mnoge druge zemlje. Da bismo uspjeli, svi ćemo zajedno morati pomoći i pogurati naše političare, jer bez toga, pravih dalekosežnih promjena koje mijenjaju svijet jednostavno neće biti. Jer tu se ne radi samo o mijenjanju zakona, nego o započinjanju razgovora o tome što je u redu da tvrtke čine i kako je prihvatljivo koristiti strukture tvrtke. To nije samo problem suhih pravilnika. To je problem ljudi koji utječe na sve nas. Radi se o tome da budemo na pravoj strani povijesti. Globalni građani, inovatori, vodeći ljudi poslovnog svijeta, pojedinci, trebamo vas. Zajedno pokrenimo ovaj globalni pokret. Samo učinimo to, stanimo na kraj anonimnim tvrtkama. Hvala vam. (Pljesak)