Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

The media have reported that around 30 million US dollars of the Medellin drug cartel are still lying dormant since 1989 in several bank accounts worldwide of which in Switzerland, Panama and Luxembourg.

BGL and BNP Paribas confirmed, so did the Luxembourg prosecuting authorities.

This affair should not be used against Luxembourg for two reasons:

- on the one hand, in the 1980s and early 1990s  Luxembourg demonstrated its commitment in the fight against money laundering in the framework of the Jurado affair : Etienne Schmit, who was deputy prosecuting attorney had said "We hope this makes the criminals understand that we do not want their money" (quoted by the New York Times);

- on the other hand, FATF was created later, in 1990 : AML rules were not defined when the money from the Medellin drug cartel was put in Luxembourg accounts.

In the context of the publication of the Financial Secrecy Index last week, the Medellin drug cartel's money should not be used as evidence in disfavour of the jurisdiction even though there were significant changes later towards the so-called pragmatism in the regiulation and the legislation.