Thank you to everyone who attended our 2009 Conference!

 

OffshoreAlert would like to thank all of the attendees, guest speakers, sponsors and exhibitors from 29 countries who helped make the 7th Annual OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference such an overwhelming success.

 

We hope you all enjoyed the event and came away with new knowledge and enthusiasm to help you in your fight against serious financial crime.

 

Our goal this year was to present a cutting-edge program centered on how to prevent and detect serious financial crime, how to locate, freeze and seize the proceeds of crime, how to comply with existing – and sometimes conflicting – laws in multiple countries; how to better understand complex financial structures and investments, and, generally, how to stay on the right side of the law – all with an emphasis on Offshore Financial Centers.

 

"It's like that famous bar in 'Star Wars,' where they all come together – the good guys, the bad guys, the seriously guilty – and they all exchange information on neutral territory."

- A quote by prominent Washington, DC-based attorney Jack Blum in a profile of our 2009 conference that was published on Page 8 of The Wall Street Journal on May 2, 2009.

Despite the global recession, there was a record turn-out at the 7th Annual OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference, which attracted 275 registrants from 29 countries – a 32% more increase in registrants compared with the previous year.

 

This was a true testament to the quality of the conference and the high value still placed by professionals on the unique forum afforded by OffshoreAlert's Conference.

 

Through five general sessions, twenty-three breakouts and ten hours of networking, the conference provided the perfect medium for attendees to exchange timely and highly relevant information about all aspects of conducting business in Offshore Financial Centers.

 

We look forward to seeing you again next year for the 8th Annual OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference, May 2-4, 2010 at the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, Florida. Please save the dates and click here to receive updates as we work to bring you an even better program next year.

 

Highlights

in response to the relentless attack on OFCs by the world's major countries, OffshoreAlert thought it timely to open the conference with a special series devoted to "Power Politics".

 

We took a look at pending anti-offshore initiatives, how they might affect the willingness of financial institutions and High Net Worth individuals in major countries to continue doing business with OFCs, and what OFCs must do to adapt to the new political realities.

 

This series included Keynotes given by Jeffrey Owens, Head of Tax at the OECD, and Wendy C. Warren, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Bahamas Financial Services Board.

 

Garnering particular attention was a panel on IRS Offshore Enforcement Programs in which a disclosure was made by senior members of the Internal Revenue Service that the agency intended to expand its investigation into offshore tax evasion beyond UBS and was developing cases against other offshore banks.

 

To hear sample clips of some of these sessions, please click on the links below.

• Adapting to the New Political Realities Keynote (4 min)
  Jeffrey Owens, Head of Tax at the OECD
• The Offshore Perspective Keynote (4 min)
  Wendy Warren, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Bahamas Financial Services Board

• Power Politics Panel Discussion (4 min)
  A question from the audience directed to Bob Roach, Counsel & Chief Investigator, US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

• IRS Offshore Enforcement Programs & Activities (10 min)
  Opening by Stewart Kasner, Partner, Baker + McKenzie and followed by Daniel Reeves, Internal Revenue Agent (Offshore Compliance), IRS.

Until Next Year ...