IFC Economic Report 2023

Politics, Power And Propaganda

Perception vs Reality in Offshore Finance

Despite the world’s specialist IFCs demonstrating high levels of regulation, compliance and transparency, they continue to face sustained misconceptions and distorted beliefs regarding their role in international finance. The stereotype of the “shady small island offshore tax haven” has caused small offshore IFCs to be regarded as secrecy-shrouded jurisdictions with lax regulation. This has been constantly reinforced by international standard-setting bodies such as the EU through its tax blacklist, which economist Marla Dukharan claims is “not at all about addressing financial crime - it’s about politics and power.” It is argued that countries consistently named and shamed by powerful institutions are not the ones responsible for the majority of financial crime, leading to disproportionate scrutiny on the offshore world.

However, recent developments reiterate that the narrative of the ‘clean’ onshore jurisdiction versus the ‘dirty’ offshore jurisdiction is one that is increasingly untenable to support. Through analysis by key practitioners, trade specialists and economists; as well as key international bodies and organisations such as the OECD, FATF, and EU, we consider the disparity between perception and reality in offshore finance and contemplate the future of offshore in an increasingly regulated world.

Elsewhere, this jam-packed edition looks at developments in international tax planning, NextGen wealth and the role of IFCs; and how leading common law jurisdictions have dealt with sanctions against Russia. We also throw a spotlight on crypto regulation in Europe and Asia; and focus on wealth structuring developments in the Bahamas, BVI, Cayman Islands and Guernsey.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Propaganda, Perception, And Power - Who Are The True Enablers Of Financial Crime?

By Marla Dukharan, Caribbean Economist and Advisor, Barbados

Offshore Scrutiny Fails The Smell Test

By Alicia Nicholls, International Trade Consultant, Barbados

The Case For A European Asset Registry

By Panayiotis Nicolaides, Director of Research, EU Tax Observatory

Sanctions Relating To Trusts With A Russian Connection

By Paolo Panico, Director, Private Trustees SA, Luxembourg; Board member and Chairman of the Europe region of STEP

How Have Leading Common Law Jurisdictions Dealt With Sanctions Against Russia?

By Martin Kenney, Managing Partner, and Jamie James, Barrister, Martin Kenney & Co (MKS)

Putting Your UK House Ownership In Order – Register Of Overseas Entities

By Helen Ratcliffe, Senior Partner, BDB Pitmans LLP, London

MPs and Offshore Wealth

By Richard Teather, Independent tax strategy consultant

Response to the UK Economic Crime Bill

By Dame Margaret Hodge MP

Prioritising The Fight Against Illicit Finance To Tackle Serious Organised Crime

By T. Raja Kumar, President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

Basel AML Index 2022: Money Laundering Risks And Trends

By Kateryna Boguslavska, Project Manager of the Basel AML Index, Basel Institute on Governance

Clean Up Your Own Backyard

By Leah K Scott, Corporate Secretary/Legal Counsel and Money Laundering Reporting Officer, Harbour Group of Companies, Bermuda

IFCs In World Finance: Fact vs Fiction

By L Burke Files, President, Financial Examinations & Evaluations, Inc

OECD: Ensuring A Fairer International Tax System

By Pascal Saint-Amans and Grace Perez-Navarro, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, OECD

Recommendations for call a UN convention to combat global tax evasion

Attiya Waris, Independent Expert on Foreign Debt, UN

On The Nature Of The Political Influence In International Tax Competition

By Denis Kleinfeld, Kleinfeld Legal Advisors, US

Of Trust And Trusts

By Derek Sambrook, Managing Director, Topaz Services, S.A., Panama

Reimagining Offshore

By Geoff Cook, Chair Mourant Consulting

PLUS:

THE BIG DEBATE

Five years on since its inception, how effective has the EU tax blacklist been in tackling tax avoidance? Has the blacklist become more political than technical?

With contribution from:

• Benjamin Angel, European Commission
• Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network
• Marla Dukharan, Caribbean economist, Barbados
• Terry Dwyer, Dwyer Lawyers, Canberra
• Anthony Travers, Travers Thorp Alberga, Cayman Islands
• Martin Kenney, Martin Kenney & Co (MKS), British Virgin Islands
• Oliver R. Hoor, Atoz Tax Advisers, Luxembourg

IN ADDITION:

International Tax Planning

The Brave New World Of Minimum Taxes

By Aparna Mathur, Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School M-RCBG

Boots On The Ground: Why The UK Taxman Is Unable To Estimate The Offshore Tax Gap

By Andrew Park, Tax Investigations Partner at Andersen LLP

Global Developments In Wealth Tax

By SIM Bock Eng, Head of the Specialist & Private Client Disputes, WongPartnership

NextGens and the role of IFCs

With contribution from:

• Emily Deane TEP, Technical Counsel and Head of Government Affairs at STEP
• Patricia Woo, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs, Hong Kong
• Peter Cafferkey, CEO and Founder of Boncerto Ltd, London
• Martín A. Litwak, Founder and CEO, Untitled Strategic Legal Consulting, US

Spotlight on Crypto

Paying By The Rules: Cryptoassets, The CARF And The 'Travel Rule'

By James Brockhurst, Partner, and Oliver James, Trainee Solicitor, Forsters LLP

FinTech Developments In Singapore: Spotlight On Crypto

By Adrian Ang and Alexander Fong, Allen & Gledhill LLP

Developments In Switzerland

By Dr. Reto Luthiger, Attorney-at-Law, MLL Meyerlustenberger Lachenal Froriep Ltd. (MLL), Zurich, Switzerland

Rise of RegTech

With contribution from:

• Simon Deane, Consultant in Banking and Finance, Deacons, Hong Kong
• Marina El Hachem, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP, UAE

Around the Jurisdictions

With contribution from:

• Bahamas Financial Services Board
• BVI Finance
• Guernsey Finance
• Invest Barbados

ALSO:

How IFCs Collaborate To Remain Competitive

By Lorna Smith OBE, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, LGS and Associates, BVI

Gibraltar after Brexit: "Dawn's early light or twilight's last gleaming"

By Marcus Killick OBE, Chief Executive Officer at ISOLAS LLP

NFTs: Are They Financial Products?

By Gerard Ng, Managing Partner, and Yap Teck Chai, Counsel, Legal Ink LLC, Singapore

Offshore FDI, tax havens, and productivity: A network analysis

By Snehal Awate, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

The Regulation Of Trust And Corporate Service Providers

By Richard Grasby, Partner, Appleby, Hong Kong, Shanghai

IFCs Bounce Back In The Global Financial Centres Index

By Mike Wardle, Chief Executive Officer, and Professor Michael Mainelli, Chairman, Z/Yen Group

FOR PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:

Rob Ayres: rob@ifcreview.com
Fred Jacobs: fred@ifcreview.com
Or call 020 7692 0932

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Email editorialteam@ifcreview.com