‘White list’ excludes UK-linked tax havens

‘White list’ excludes UK-linked tax havens

By Michael Peel and Nikki Tait

Published: May 27 2008 23:33 | Last updated: May 27 2008 23:41

A new international “white list” of financial centres with top quality anti-money laundering controls has sparked a row by excluding key British-linked tax havens.

The draft document – drawn up by European Union member countries – omits financial centres in Britain’s Caribbean territory and gives the Crown dependencies only a qualified status, even though it includes Russia and other countries with contentious anti-money-laundering records.

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Tax haven ‘white list’ excludes UK centres

A row has erupted over a ‘white list’ of financial centres which excludes UK-linked tax havens

Written by AccountancyAge.com

Accountancy Age, 28 May 2008

An international ‘white list’ of financial centres with top quality anti-money laundering controls, drawn up by EU member countries, omits financial centres in Britain’s Caribbean territory and gives the Crown dependencies of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man only a qualified status, but includes Russia and other countries with contentious anti-money-laundering records.

The list gives companies operating in EU member states the option of waiving some of the checks they would otherwise carry out on financial transactions involving territories that feature on it, the Financial Times reports.

One financier, specialising in offshore finance, said the centres excluded from the list could find themselves at a competitive disadvantage compared with those on it.
A British official in anti-money laundering said the decision to include Russia while excluding the Cayman Islands was ‘outrageous’ – it seemed to reflect a historic suspicion of the Caribbean territory.