Botswana Attraction
Money Laundering and Financial Crimes
Although there is little consensus regarding the exact definition of an offshore financial center, certain characteristics distinguish traditional onshore financial centers from those termed "offshore." First, offshore financial centers are in almost all cases, segregated from the normal banking structure of the jurisdiction. The vast majority of jurisdictions offering offshore financial services restrict access to these services and products to non-residents, thereby creating a parallel system within their own borders. Many jurisdictions with OFCs conduct financial transactions only in currencies other than the local currency. OFCs also differ from onshore jurisdictions in their regulatory regimes and in their legal frameworks. Many OFCs lack the stringent regulatory and supervisory regimes found in developed onshore jurisdictions. In the majority of OFCs, banks are not required to adhere to a wide range of regulations normally imposed on onshore banks. Format ... [Read More]
International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports
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]
M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes
Post September 11, there is also a growing concern that terrorists and other criminals are increasingly enlisting the services of unethical lawyers, accountants and other professionals to help them discover and manipulate new money laundering and terrorist financing opportunities afforded by the new technologies and the newer, less economically developed OFCs. The attraction of establishing an offshore financial services market for small states is a dependable source of income that in some instances exceeds 50 percent of a jurisdiction’s GDP. ... [Read More]
Prosperity Paper No. 2
(6) Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.Intellectualproperty refers to a company's ownership of the intangible aswell as tangible products of its research. These include itsmanufacturing processes, software, and marketing techniques. Inthe major industrialized countries, a company's ownership rightsare protected through the use of patents, copyrights, trademarks,protection of trade secrets, and other laws covering proprietarytechnical data. Given that a significant proportion of theirassets consists of intangibles, the protection of intellectualproperty is a high priority for MNCs, particularly in dynamicindustries such as computers, telecommunications, andpharmaceuticals, in which technology is a major competitiveweapon in the development of new products and markets. Moreover,for the host countries, the attraction of these types ofindustries is of the highest priority, because they offer thehighest potential benefits in terms of technology transfer andthe development ... [Read More]
Prosperity Paper No. 3
Shortages in the amount of global capital available tofinance worldwide growth and development needs means that theattraction of foreign investment is crucial. The desire toattract foreign investment has been a major motivating factor indeveloping countries' efforts to implement market-orientedreforms and the ex-socialist countries' movement toward marketeconomies. ... The major attractions of privatization for foreign investorsinclude: New Markets. Privatization provides foreigninvestors theopportunity to penetrate new markets in developing countries andregions. The long-term growth and earnings potential in many ofthese markets is higher than in the mature, highly saturatedmarkets of the industrialized countries. A cheap and plentifulsupply of both skilled and unskilled workers in these countriesmay help foreign investors create export platforms that are astrategic necessity in today's increasingly competitive globaleconomy. ... [Read More]
International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, April 1993US Department of StateBureau of International Narcotics MattersDepartment of State Publication 10047Released April 1993The Report is for sale by the Government Printing Office, Superindendent of Documents. Stock No.: 044-000-02370-9This segment of the INCSR represents individual reports for Africa and the Middle East.AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST Algeria Cote d'Ivoire Egypt Ghana Israel Jordan Kenya Lebannon Morocco Nigeria Saudi Arabia Senegal Syria Tunisia Other Africa [EDITOR'S NOTE: Charts referenced to in brackets [ ] are available only in hard copy of report.]AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST ALGERIAI. SummaryAlgeria is the second largest country in Africa, but its drug consumption and trafficking problems are relatively modest. Algeria does not produce opium or heroin, and cannabis production is largely for local use. Most trafficking is in marijuana or hashish, although heroin, cocaine, and barbiturates, on ... [Read More]
M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes
This lack of transparency and the ability to engage in regulatory arbitrage, coupled with a concomitant reluctance or refusal of many OFCs to cooperate with regulators and law enforcement officials from other jurisdictions, attract those with both legitimate and illegitimate purposes. Drug traffickers, terrorists, money launderers, tax evaders and other criminals have found the OFCs a particularly inviting venue in which to conduct and conceal their activities. With the advent of the Internet and other technological advances, funds can be transferred around the globe instantaneously, providing further opportunities to engage in the placement and layering of illicitly gained funds. There is also a growing concern that terrorists and other criminals are increasingly enlisting the services of unethical lawyers, accountants and other professionals to help them discover and manipulate new money laundering and terrorist financing opportunities afforded by the new technologies. The attraction ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Artistic attractions are principally tribal dancing, arts and crafts, and small museums in Blantyre and Mzuzu. A French-Canadian Catholic priest, resident in Malawi for more than 30 years, has an extensive collection of traditional masks worn by Malawians during their various tribal dances. He has built a museum near his mission in southern Malawi to house these artifacts. Diplomatic missions occasionally sponsor concerts by visiting artists. Disco has become quite popular among Malawians, and hotels usually have a live band for dancers. There are also several well-known dance clubs in the major cities. ... [Read More]
Offshore Financial Centers
While there are well-regulated OFCs, located primarily in the larger, wealthier jurisdictions offering offshore financial services, the primary attraction of the offshore sector remains the frequent existence of legal frameworks designed to obscure the identity of beneficial owners, to promote regulatory and supervisory arbitrage, and to provide mitigation or evasion of home-country tax regimes. In the majority of OFCs a wide range of regulations normally imposed on onshore banks are not applicable. In many OFCs, banks with minimal or no capital requirements can be formed, registered and their ownership placed in the hands of nominee directors via the Internet. Often, there are few, if any, disclosure requirements and bank transactions are free of exchange and interest rate restrictions. ... [Read More]
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