Andorra Offshore

US DEPARTMENT OF STATEBUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS MATTERSINTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRAGEGY REPORTAPRIL 1994FINANCIAL CRIMES AND MONEY LAUNDERING1994 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORTINTERNATIONAL MONEY LAUNDERINGOVERVIEWIntelligence findings from North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, South and East Asia, Africa and the Middle East confirm that another significant shift has occurred in money laundering trends and methods, requiring changes in policy and strategy for 1994.The critical aspects are the volume of non-drug related money laundering; increased investment of illegal proceeds in legitimate business, including the financial industry; and the targeting of financial systems in countries/territories (some with little or no domestic involvement in drug trading or other serious proceeds-generating crimes) to launder drug and other proceeds generated by crimes committed in other jurisdictions.In 1988, when the United Nations Convention was ... [Read More]

Country Reports: G-M

Gabon Gabon is not a regional financial center. The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) supervises Gabon’s banking system. BEAC is a regional Central Bank that serves six countries of Central Africa. According to a 2003 letter from the Government of Gabon (GOG) to the UN Counter Terrorism Committee, in matters concerning suspicious financial transactions, banks are bound by the instructions of the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs. The actual monitoring of financial transactions is conducted by the Economic Intervention Service that harmonizes the regulation of currency exchanges in the member States of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). On November 20, 2002, the BEAC Board of Directors approved draft anti-money laundering a ... [Read More]

M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

SVG’s offshore sector includes 15 offshore banks (down from 33), 9,734 IBCs (down from over 11,000), two offshore insurance companies, six mutual funds, 400 international trusts, and Internet gaming licenses. SVG’s domestic sector comprises five commercial banks, one development bank, two savings and loan banks, one building society, 21 insurance companies, nine credit unions and two money remitters. As with most Eastern Caribbean countries, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) supervises SVG’s five domestic banks. Beginning in October 2001 with an administrative agreement and finalized in the International Banks (Amendment) Act No. 30 of 2002, the Government of SVG (GOSVG) has given the ECCB increasing authority to review and make recommendations regarding approval of offshore bank license applications and to directly supervise SVG’s offshore banks in cooperation with the GOSVG’s Offshore Finance Authority (OFA). The agreement includes provisions for joint on-site inspections to ... [Read More]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORTMARCH 1995BUREAU FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS FINANCIAL CRIMES AND MONEY LAUNDERING11995 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORTOVERVIEWThere were a number of significant accomplishments in the world of money laundering in 1994, and a number of new and/or intensified concerns. Accomplishments and concerns are summarized here and explained in detailed sections below.Accomplishments. Several financial center governments, such as Singapore and Panama, have adopted broad, new anti-money laundering policies and/or laws, and a number of governments were in the final stages of presenting/adopting new legislation.The Financial Action Task Force completed the evaluations of each of its 26 member governments, all conducted by outside experts and all culminating in recommendations for changes and improvements which will be monitored through continuing examinations be ... [Read More]

Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

The Uruguayan government is encouraging the development of the offshore financial sector. The Uruguayan offshore program allows for the establishment of offshore financial investment companies (SAFIs) per the 1948 Offshore Companies Act, Law No. 11,083; free trade zone companies (FTZs) per the 1989 Companies Act, Law No. 16,060; and offshore banking enterprises (OBEs) per Decree 15,322 of 1989, which reactivated a dormant 1982 offshore banking law. The offshore financial investment companies (SAFIs) are best known for being used as investment holding companies. However, they are also used as trading companies, brokerage firms, and export and import companies, as well as to transmit funds to and from neighboring countries. The SAFIs are required to maintain a registered office in Uruguay and a set of accounting books. The minimum number of shareholders required is one, and shareholders do not have to be registered with the government. The FTZs are used within the nine Uruguayan free tra ... [Read More]

Table of Contents

Tax Evasion Scheme Uses Antigua Offshore Bank ...

IRS-CID seizes millions in offshore gaming investigation involving Antigua and Belize ... [Read More]

Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

(2) FATF Recommendation 21 states: Financial institutions should give special attention to business relations and transactions with persons, including companies and financial institutions, from countries which do not or insufficiently apply these Recommendations. Whenever these transactions have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose, their background and purpose should, as far as possible, be examined, the findings established in writing, and be available to help supervisors, auditors and law enforcement agencies.The FATF’s NCCT exercise, while not designed to focus on OFCs, has had a significant impact on the OFCs and other jurisdictions around the globe. For more information on this initiative see the discussion of the NCCT process in the Multilateral Section—FATF overview—in this report.Explanatory Notes To the Offshore Financial Services C ... [Read More]

N) Offshore Financial Services Table

1A = Asia/Pacific Group; C = Caribbean Financial Action Task Force; CE = Council of Europe Select Committee on Money Laundering; E = Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group; EG = The Egmont Group; F = Financial Action Task Force; I = Offshore Group of Insurance Supervisors (OGIS); IO = Observer to the OGIS; O = Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors; OC = OAS/Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission; S = International Organization of Security Commissioners. ... [Read More]

M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

The potential for money laundering activities at the offshore banking facility in Labuan is of concern, as there is no requirement for the beneficial owners of International Business Companies (IBCs) to be identified. The Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (LOFSA, often referred to simply as "Labuan") regulates the wide range of financial services, such as offshore banking and trust partnerships, provided by the offshore sector. Labuan hosts 54 offshore banks (46 foreign-owned), approximately 100 insurance companies, 4 mutual funds, 12 fund managers, and 18 active trust companies operating in Labuan. Because there is no requirement to register offshore trusts, their number is not known. Nominee trustees are permitted in Labuan, as are nominee directors of Labuan’s approximately 2,300 IBCs incorporated or registered in Labuan. There is no requirement to disclose the beneficial owner of a corporation. There is, however, a government registry of corporate directors and sharehold ... [Read More]

Offshore Financial Centers

Offshore Banks: The number is provided if known. A Y indicates that although a jurisdiction that offers offshore financial services (OFC) licenses offshore banks, the number of such banks is not known. An N indicates that no offshore banks are known to be licensed in the jurisdiction. A blank cell indicates no or inconclusive information regarding whether offshore banks are offered within the OFC. ...

The pressure exerted on the offshore financial centers (OFCs) to comply with anti-money laundering standards continued to yield positive results in 2003. Since the beginning of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT) exercise in 2000, FATF has identified 23 jurisdictions as NCCTs. Sixteen of the NCCTs have either been OFCs or jurisdictions that offer services commonly associated with OFCs. As of December 31, 2003, however, of the nine remaining NCCT jurisdictions, only three offered offshore financial services: Cook Islands, Guatemala and Nauru. All three have made significant progress in remedying FATF-identified deficiencies. The Cook Islands established a financial intelligence unit; Guatemala strengthened its licensing, registration and regulatory procedures for its offshore banks; and, Nauru reportedly canceled the licenses of its nearly 400 shell banks. The USA PATRIOT Act provis ... [Read More]