Following the onset of the global financial crisis, the role of offshore international financial centres (OIFCs) has once again become a talking point, with international leaders taking yet another opportunity to throw criticism at what they (with only occasional accuracy) term ‘tax havens’ in an effort to distract from the real causes of the meltdown.
Much of this criticism is unfounded and in some instances only serves to highlight the truth, which is that an elite group of OIFCs are fast obtaining bluechip status internationally, with levels of regulation and anti-money laundering legislation that are demonstrably more effective than those of many onshore jurisdictions.
