Articles
Africa – Where is the Capital Going
We focus in this note on where money tends to get structured once it has left the African mainland. The Old World jurisdiction of Switzerland is still a favourite, especially as implementation of new transparency rules has yet to dent its service offering. Mauritius...
US – Russia Proxy War
Greater U.S. surveillance and intervention around Russian/former Soviet-bloc financial flows through Europe has cast a spotlight on questionable activities. Regulators need to be much more vigilant as one institution can destroy an entire jurisdiction's financial...
Offshore World View
Our six-monthly review of the big picture relating to offshore shows increasing momentum for change. The Old World jurisdictions have seen their future prospects deteriorate substantially while the New World continues to grow through any geopolitical volatility....
Hong Kong – Growing Pains
For geopolitical/proximity reasons we firmly believe that Hong Kong is a burgeoning powerhouse in offshore. It is still far behind the old world jurisdictions in some compliance processes but will catch up fast. A more sophisticated approach will be implemented over...
A New Era of Transparency
Many well-meaning campaigners and activists have managed to score a major legislative victory in the UK - forcing UK overseas territories (not the Channel Islands yet) to establish public beneficial ownership registers. There will be unintended consequences -...
Tax and Secrecy – Common Reporting Standards
Not all tax information sharing processes are equal - the U.S. compels one-way information flows (without reciprocating) while the OECD's CRS is designed to be two-way. Hong Kong has created an information-sharing exempt investment vehicle, while claiming full...