Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

US Senators Carl Levin and Barack Obama (Democrats) and Senator Norm Coleman (Republican) have introduced a bill, with the unwieldy title of "Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act" (summary here.) Its declared intention is "to protect the United States from U.S. corporations being misused to commit terrorism, money laundering, tax evasion, or other misconduct."

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The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer chaired a meeting of FATF Ministers in Washington DC a few days ago.
The Ministers discussed the work of the FATF in the international fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. They also endorsed a revised mandate for the FATF, which determines its direction and priorities between 2008 and 2012. The new mandate:

- Deepens global surveillance of evolving criminal and terrorist threats identified by the FATF;
- Responds to new threats which affect the integrity of the financial system such as proliferation finance;
- Builds a stronger, practical and ongoing partnership with the private sector which is at the frontline of the global fight against money launderers and terrorist financiers; and
- Supports global efforts to raise standards, especially in low capacity countries.

Source : FATF website

FATF new mandate

Liz Moyer and Tatyana Shumsky from Forbes have recenttly published an article relating to the World's Top Tax Havens
They observe that traditional venues like Switzerland, the duchies of Lichtenstein and Luxembourg and Caribbean paradises like the British Virgin Islands are finding competition from the U.S., where lawyers in seven states, such as Nevada and Alaska, are muscling in, looking to grab business from the world's wealthy

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