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Promoting transparency against tax evasion and market manipulation

Despite the emphasis recently given on regulatory and policy initiatives to promote a culture of transparency and openness in the financial markets, a number of leaks and scandals confirm that more needs to be done and new initiatives need to be taken, based on wider cooperation and exchange of information at European and international level. 

There has been a body of literature underlining the problems that exist, the gaps in the legislative framework and the ineffectiveness of the current rules to tackle phenomena, such as money laundering and tax evasion. However, there is no literature and no projects approaching this problem from a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective with view to find what is missing and what needs to be done, instead of just highlighting the problem and its seriousness.

Although there seems to be consensus that illicit practices, such as money laundering and tax evasion, need to be prevented and more transparency should be promoted, little action has been taken in that direction and the outcomes are not the expected ones. Apart from the lack or proactiveness, there is considerable delay in the introduction of the necessary reforms that will promote transparency and will pave the way for the necessary change of culture.

Countries, such as the UK, Luxemburg and Switzerland, have been criticised for their inability or unwillingness to put an end at practices that undermine their credibility and standing as well-established financial hubs. This project aims at making practical policy recommendations, combining theoretical findings with real-life case studies, in order to ensure that these recommendations are reasonable, achievable and implementable.

The project brings together experts in law, finance and economics, who will work together with practitioners, policymakers and representatives of the business community, in order to determine how the existing framework can be improved, what is the missing link between law on paper and law in practice and ultimately what has not been done up until today by governments and companies respectively. The involvement of all stakeholders involved is intended to send the message that the existing culture needs to change, otherwise more scandals and stories of corruption will surface, creating further uncertainty and financial instability.


Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project

Dr Stelios Andreadakis
Dr Stelios Andreadakis - Dr Stelios Andreadakis is a Reader in Corporate and Financial Law and Director of Postgraduate Admissions. He is also the Deputy Director of the Research Centre for Law, Economics and Finance. Prior to joining Brunel, he was a Lecturer and LLM Director at the University of Leicester and a Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University. He holds a PhD and an LLM in International Commercial Law from the University of Leicester and an undergraduate Law degree from the Law School of the University of Athens, Greece.  Dr Andreadakis’ research interests are in the areas of Corporate Law and EU Law. He is particularly interested in corporate governance, exploring aspects of regulation of companies, corporate theories, the operation of financial markets and the role of scandals in the introduction of new legislation. His current work focuses on the role of whistle-blowers in modern corporate governance and he is conducting empirical research in the US, Japan and Europe. A monograph will be published by Edward Elgar with the findings of the research project and his recommendations as to the role of corporate culture in the strengthening of whistleblower protection worldwide. Dr Andreadakis has published a very influential monograph, co-authored with Prof Sonia Morano-Foadi,  on the process of European integration, the role of the judiciary and policy-makers as well as the future of human rights protection in the EU. In recognition of his work on this area, Dr Andreadakis was invited to make a contribution as an expert to a public Hearing organised by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament in April 2016 in Brussels. Qualifications PhD, University of Leicester LLM, University of Leicester LLB, University of Athens PG Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (Oxford Brookes University) Qualified lawyer (Athens Bar Association) 

Related Research Group(s)

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Law, Economics and Finance - The Centre for Law, Economics and Finance aims to advance the wider societal impact of our research by engaging with policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholder.


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Project last modified 20/11/2023