Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

In his investiture speach one year ago, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco promised he would continue efforts made over the past few years to clean up Monaco's image as a centre for money laundering and loose financial controls.

He said : ' I intend however that ethics remain the backdrop for all the actions of the Monegasque authorities. Ethics are not divisible. Money and virtue must be combined permanently. The importance of Monaco's financial market will require extreme vigilance to avoid the development of the type of financial activities which are not welcome in our country. To avoid such deviance; Monaco must function in harmony with all those organizations who share the same aim. Monaco must therefore respect the requirements of FAFT-GAFI (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering) and the tax authorities and in particular the French and American tax authorities, and respect all the other good practices in the control of financial flows."

Monaco has long had the reputation of a fiscal paradise but the principality has considerably tightened its financial guidelines in recent years under pressure from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) .

investiture-speech_MC.pdf