Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

The Guardian has reported that this year, Gurria, head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, made strong public statements about the failure of certain tax havens to disclose information to governments about suspected tax evaders. 'The question is the capacity of countries and third parties to make sure the origin and destination of the money is legitimate, not the product of an illegal activity ... I'm talking about taxes. That is bad, but almost tame compared to money laundering and organised crime trying to pass their money through legitimate accounts and systems.'
There is actually concern that the OECD is failing to come to grips with tax evasion. Scandals centring on Liechtenstein's biggest bank, owned by the head of state, and UBS bankers in the US have ratcheted up fears that tax havens are incapable of monitoring the battalions of accountants, lawyers and bankers stashing trillions of dollars away from national exchequers.

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