All News

The recent ‘Panama Papers’ hacking scandal and subsequent reporting appears to make little distinction between the allegations of misconduct by Mossack Fonseca and the important role that internationally regulated offshore jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands play in international trade and finance.

Copy of presentation made at the BVI Finance Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Compliance Breakfast Forum.

The publication of the Panama Papers has raised serious questions about global compliance with international regulatory standards, and it is apparent that some jurisdictions have fallen markedly behind in the global efforts to combat money laundering and tax evasion.

James Quarmby, head of private wealth at Stephenson Harwood: “The truth is that the major OFCs are extremely well regulated and have been so for many years. It is far harder to set up a company in Jersey than in the UK, for instance, because of its rigorous “know your client” rules. It is therefore wrong to judge the whole of the offshore industry on the actions of a single firm in Panama.”

This article was originally published by Financial Times.The release of the Panama Papers has made vivid the role played by tax havens in hiding illicit gains. But the rapid growth in offshore centres in recent decades has been built on more than secrecy.Amid the unsavoury revelations about authoritarian leaders and their intimates abusing offshore accounts provided by Panama’s Mossack Fonseca law firm, many financiers are springing to the defence of an industry they view as an essential cog in...

Statement by Government of the British Virgin Islands on ICIJ Leak of ‘Panama Papers’