What is the situation regarding exchange of information between countries?
– The recommendations of the FATF and the initiatives of the G7 and EU countries, and the OECD have thrown bank secrecy policy into turmoil. These recommendations have been targeted at jurisdictions which the FATF considered to have ‘serious systemic problems with money laundering controls’ and for those who failed to review their practices and make reforms, the adoption of ‘counter measures’ was darkly hinted at. The recommendations hinged on creating greater transparency during the process of offshore investment/banking, and the reporting and exchange of information regarding transactions deemed to be unusual. In 2002, the IRS was awarded the right to demand the records of American Express and MasterCard transactions for customers who hold cards issued through Antigua, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. This came as a result of the testimony of John Mathewson, a former Cayman Islands banker who revealed that the cards could be used for tax evasion purposes. The implementation of Qua
