Offshore Bank Secrecy a Relic of the Past

SOURCE: OffshoreAlert

MIAMI, FL March 6, 2008

Recent bank secrecy scandals in Liechtenstein and the Cayman Islands emphasize the need for offshore financial centers to offer something other than secrecy if they are to thrive in the modern era.

"The days when an offshore bank's main selling point was secrecy are long gone," says David Marchant, publisher of OffshoreAlert, which specializes in reporting about OFCs.

"In the case of LGT Bank in Liechtenstein and Julius Baer Bank in the Cayman Islands, 'rogue' employees apparently motivated by greed and with no sense of duty to their respective employer or its clients were responsible for the leaking of client-account records to the outside world.

"However, anyone who thinks that this is the only way that tax collectors, creditors, regulators and law enforcement can obtain information about offshore-account-holders is dangerously out-of-date with reality.

"In recent years, an array of laws has been passed by most OFCs that provide gateways for foreign investigative parties to legally obtain account information about offshore-account holders.

"Quite simply, it is a myth that it is impossible or even particularly difficult now to obtain information in OFCs and legitimate jurisdictions stopped promoting themselves as secrecy havens some time ago in recognition of this fact."

"Some OFCs are more transparent than even the USA," says Marchant. "In Bermuda, for example, you don't even have to go through the courts to obtain the names of shareholders, officers and directors of most corporations domiciled on the island. The same is true in the Bahamas."

A step-by-step guide to legally obtaining information in OFCs will form part of the 6th OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference, which takes place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on April 13-15, 2008. Two attorneys, a government agent, and a private investigator from offshore and onshore jurisdictions will demonstrate to attendees what is required for successful applications. They are Jacqueline Somersall-Berry, Director, St. Kitts & Nevis Financial Intelligence Unit; Matthew Crawford, Associate, Maples and Calder (Cayman); DC Page, Managing Partner, Verasys LLC (USA); and Carlos Castillo, Attorney, Seidman Prewitt DiBello & Lopez (USA).

With secrecy now a relic of the past, OFCs must rely on more transparent products and services to be successful, says Marchant. With this in mind, another session at the OffshoreAlert Conference will deal with 'Steps OFCs Must Take to Thrive in the Modern Era'. Participants include Timothy Ridley, OBE, Chairman, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority; Robert L. Roach, Counsel and Chief Investigator to the Majority, U. S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (USA); Paul Byles, Managing Director, Focus Corporate Services & Consulting (Cayman Islands); Rodney Gallagher, Caribbean Government Consultant (Barbados); and Richard Hay, International Tax Principal, Stikeman Elliott (UK).

Want to learn how to legally obtain information in OFCs and what steps OFCs must take to thrive in the modern era?

Register for the 6th OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference this April 13-15, 2008 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL where both of these issues will be addressed.

For more information about OffshoreAlert's Annual Financial Due Diligence Conference, visit www.OffshoreAlertConference.com or contact Conference Director Naomi Comerford by telephone in Miami, Florida on +1 (305)372-6296 or by email at ncomerford@OffshoreAlert.com