A balancing act: offshore financial centre strategy and the global anti‐money laundering movement

Abstract

Focuses on offshore banking secrecy and how it affects the operation of anti‐money laundering endeavours like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF); it prevents onshore countries from knowing how offshore financial centre (OFC) jurisdictions control drug trafficking, terrorism and other serious crimes. Relates the author’s original research from 2002, aimed at finding ways to collect primary data behind the bank secrecy in the OFCs; this involved economic psychology and the grounded theory method. Presents a case study to show how OFCs perform a balancing act: they must adapt to the FATF requirements on anti‐money laundering legislation in order to avoid the Non‐Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT) blacklist, while maintaining a profitable financial sector. Reports a seminar organised by a prominent OFC in 1997, with speeches by the Prime Minister, Attorney‐General and leading bankers and lawyers.

Citation

Oberg, C. (2003), "A balancing act: offshore financial centre strategy and the global anti‐money laundering movement", Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 153-157. https://doi.org/10.1108/13685200410809869