Experts say Panama’s new reforms will help fight money laundering. Panama’s Congress on April 22 unanimously approved anti-money laundering legislation that will bolster supervision of non-financial sectors through which proceeds from drug trafficking and other illicit activities have been laundered in recent years. To what extent will the reforms, a… – Continue reading
Executive Summary: The Panamanian government has engaged in an extensive period of consultations with local and foreign experts, practitioners, professionals and regulators, in a concerted effort to ensure that the jurisdiction continues to embody the highest international standards in terms of functionality and transparency (while preserving confidentiality). To that effect,… – Continue reading
Russia is set to enact an amnesty on offshore assets next month, but disagreement and lack of clarity over the terms of the pardon threaten not only to render the measure impotent, but undermine the government’s very drive to lure overseas money back home. The capital amnesty, part of a… – Continue reading
Efforts by the Australian government to combat money laundering could have a highly impact effect upon the huge revenues its reaping from foreign purchases of domestic property. Regulators have recently come under fire for failing to adequately monitor foreign acquisitions of Australian real estate and ensure that they are in… – Continue reading
Money laundering and the increasing role it plays in terrorist financing is almost never out of the news. The extent to which terrorist groups are able to mobilise support has risen significantly and many, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are clearly very well-financed. Thanks… – Continue reading
Shayne Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates NBD, muses how corporate governance, risk and compliance have changed beyond recognition since he first came to the region. Shayne Nelson has seen a lot of change in his extensive banking career, which has spanned several continents. With roles including Chairman of Standard… – Continue reading
The debate around transparency, information exchange and beneficial ownership continues to evolve and has demanded a real focus for those working in International Finance Centres (IFCs), which frequently find themselves in the frame when it comes to ill-considered accusations relating to secrecy and illicit financial flows. In fact, Jersey and… – Continue reading
Bern, 29.04.2015 – At its meeting today, the Federal Council decided to put into effect in two stages the Federal Law of 12 December 2014 on the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force recommendations, revised in 2012. On 12 December 2014 the Federal Assembly approved the Federal Law on… – Continue reading
PANAMA CITY (AP) — – Panama took a major step in an effort to clean up its reputation as Latin America’s premier hub for money laundering. The nation’s legislature late Wednesday unanimously approved a proposed law that will toughen supervision of more than a dozen non-financial sectors where illicit proceeds… – Continue reading
Moves to create a supposed level playing field for succession issues in Europe, along with more established themes around automatic exchange of information and US extra-territorial tax powers make their appearance in a major Geneva-based conference later in April. Figures from the world of wealth management will gather at the… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Australia needs to tighten safeguards against money laundering in its booming property market, which has attracted Chinese funds with likely links to corruption, an international anti-money laundering body said in a report released late on Tuesday. The intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force said real estate agents and lawyers… – Continue reading
In response to Pranay Gupte’s story on a story published by Firstpost, the Secretary to the Mauritius cabinet, S Seebaluck, has rebutted some of the points made in the story titled: “Mauritius cracks whip on Muslims, not a’ role model of democracy’ as PM Modi said after all.” The following… – Continue reading
The reporting obligations imposed on lawyers are inconsistent and confused. Tax avoidance has become a central issue in the election campaign. So what is usually a topic for a small, specialist group of lawyers has become an item of general interest. And, yes, there is a strong link to lawyers’… – Continue reading
On 26 March 2015, the United Kingdom Parliament passed into law the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (the “Act”). The Act will bring about a number of fundamental changes to UK company law including, amongst others, the abolition of bearer shares and corporations acting as directors and, perhaps… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): Cayman’s leader, Premier Alden McLaughlin, was joined by the COO of Dart Enterprises at the House of Lords this week in promoting Cayman when he delivered a key-note address at the Caribbean Council reception. As McLaughlin sold the crowd on the benefits of investing in Cayman and the… – Continue reading
Introduction Every non-US entity has FATCA status Passive NFFEs report substantial US owners Trustee of trust or its sponsoring entity will report US persons Other reporting FFIs in structure will carry out FATCA due diligence Reporting when US account holders are identified Enforcement Comment Introduction The policy statement in the… – Continue reading
Michael Betley, group chairman of Trust Corporation International looks at how Guernsey has coped in an increasingly transparent and regulated world and how it can adapt to further change in the future. Is Guernsey positioned to navigate its way successfully through the maze of initiatives designed to penetrate the legal… – Continue reading
Tax Regulation Number PER-01/PJ/2015, which is supposed to be effective starting this year, has triggered controversy within the banking industry. This is mainly due to the new obligation for banks to disclose details on every customer’s tax payments on deposits or savings interest. The Finance Minister needed to postpone indefinitely… – Continue reading
The ongoing global initiatives around exchange of tax information and publication of beneficial ownership information, while ostensibly in pursuit of transparency, have their origins in the need for the larger, richer countries to increase tax revenues, and the perception that taxpayers are hiding assets abroad and out of the tax… – Continue reading
Switzerland is moving towards “greater transparency” in providing administrative assistance on tax matters, a global body today said amid India making efforts to bring back illicit funds stashed by its citizens in Swiss banks. Long perceived as a safe haven for unaccounted wealth, Switzerland has been facing international pressure to… – Continue reading
*BELIZE HITS NEW MILESTONE IN AML/CFT COMPLIANCE The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) recognizes the tremendous strides Belize has made in strengthening its regime for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and concluded that Belize no longer poses a risk to the international financial system. At… – Continue reading
The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) recognizes the tremendous strides Belize has made in strengthening its regime for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and concluded that Belize no longer poses a risk to the international financial system. At the recently concluded CFATF Plenary, member countries… – Continue reading
Not long after the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division (“DOJ”) made international headlines in 2009 for its bombshell announcement that it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS), lawmakers in Washington, D.C. began reviewing the testimony of hundreds of UBS’s U.S. clients… – Continue reading
PREMIER Rufus Ewing has called out United Kingdom Opposition Leader, Edward Miliband for published statements he recently made regarding the TCI being a tax haven. Miliband is reported in the UK press as stating that the UK overseas territories (OT) are not complying with UK directives on beneficial ownership of… – Continue reading
Island’s History of Robust Regulation, Rule of Law, Global Tax Treaties and Lack of Bank Secrecy Laws Ought to be Recognised by UK Labour Party HAMILTON, Bermuda, Feb. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bermuda’s well-documented financial services regulation, international partnership treaties, and lack of bank secrecy legislation ought to be… – Continue reading
Bermuda’s well-documented financial services regulation, international partnership treaties, and lack of bank secrecy legislation ought to be recognised by the UK Labour Party, the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) said today. The BDA echoed the Bermuda Government’s weekend response to UK Opposition Leader Ed Miliband following a warning letter issued… – Continue reading
The news that the government was considering to include fiscal offences like serious tax crimes/tax evasion into the ambit of money laundering under the proposed Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) would appear to be quite strange for the business community and other taxpayers. This surprising piece of information was disclosed by… – Continue reading
2014 was a year replete with new legislative and regulatory initiatives impacting federally regulated financial institutions. The key initiatives introduced or implemented in 2014 are outlined in our annual year in review. PRUDENTIAL REGULATION: GUIDANCE FROM OSFI Proposed New Bail-in Regime for Large Banks On August 1, 2014, the Government… – Continue reading
Observers of offshore financial centres will know that post 2008 they have been weathering a perfect storm. Firstly, reduced transactional flows, simply because there is less money available for structured finance and investment generally. Secondly, a constant barrage of negative publicity, which deliberately seeks to conflate tax evasion and tax… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The Finance Ministry has proposed amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act 2010, in order to further improve it in lines with suggestions of the stakeholders regarding the anti-money laundering efforts and the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regime. A well-placed source at the Finance Ministry told Customs… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands government announced it will not implement a central register of beneficial ownership information, but will continue its current method of providing this type of information to law enforcement, tax and regulatory authorities. At the same time, government proposes to enact new legislation that will improve access to… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands has published a new report stating that, while it will not introduce a central registry of information on the beneficial ownership of companies, it will tighten up its beneficial ownership regime in other areas. The report follows industry consultation between November 2013 and February 2014 and broadly… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands Government today issued a report stating that it will continue its current method of providing beneficial ownership information to law enforcement, tax and regulatory authorities, as the method adheres to global standards. As explained in its Consultation Report on Maintenance of Legal and Beneficial Ownership Information, Government’s… – Continue reading
Illicit Flows from Developing & Emerging Countries Growing at 9.4% per Year US$6.6 Trillion Stolen from Developing World from 2003-2012; Trade Misinvoicing Responsible for 77.8% of Illicit Outflows China, Russia, Mexico, India, Malaysia—in Declining Order—Are Biggest Exporters of Illicit Capital over Decade; Sub-Saharan Africa Still Suffers Biggest Illicit Outflows as… – Continue reading
28 November 2013 ” (George Town, Grand Cayman) The OECD has released the latest ratings against compliance with FATF recommendations rating the Cayman Islands “Largely Compliant”. The rating places the Cayman Islands only one level below the maximum rankings and places the jurisdiction in the same category as countries such… – Continue reading
The Swiss Council of States has adopted a bill forwarded on from the Federal Council with modifications, implementing the revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations. Lawmakers increased the tax threshold for a case of tax evasion to be deemed to be a serious tax offence, from CHF200,000 (USD229,164) to… – Continue reading
On 20 November, 2013 the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) issued a public statement identifying jurisdictions in the Caribbean Basin region with strategic anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies that have not made sufficient progress in addressing such deficiencies. Those jurisdictions are identified as Belize… – Continue reading
