What is the future of the offshore industry?
Since the 911 incident, the international crackdown on money laundering has created much debate in the offshore industry, primarily between jurisdictions eager to comply with international standards of anti-laundering regulation and those that are less co-operative. The driving force behind those initiatives, have been influential organisations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF was established by the G-7 countries in 1989 and is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. As the FATF seek to apply more international pressure, it will become increasingly difficult for the less well-regulated regimes to do business Another major issue is the exchange of information, the profile of which has been raised in the current climate. The recently agreed EU Savings Tax Directive will change the face of the offshore industry, although to w
