Seychelles Underlines Tough Stance On Money Laundering With New UN Treaty
Seychelles Vice President
James Michel this week attended a four-day UN meeting in Palermo,
Sicily, where he signed the United Nations Convention Against
Transnational Organised Crime. According to Mr Michel, the Seychelles’
signing of the international treaty is an expression of the resolve
of the Seychelles government to eradicate the potential for money
laundering and to support the fight against organised crime. Mr
Michel hopes that the Convention will be ratified at the earliest
opportunity. At a press conference,
the Vice President said the Palermo meeting provided the Seychelles
with the opportunity to reiterate, in the most emphatic terms,
that "we are totally opposed to the concept of money laundering".
He confirmed that the Seychelles had already taken a number of
steps to protect the jurisdiction from money laundering and these
included accession to all international conventions relating to
narcotics. Mr Michel said the
Seychelles was committed to the international fight against money
laundering on both an international and domestic level. He stated
that the jurisdiction was keen to adhere to the Minimum Performance
Standards established by the United Nations Offshore Forum. At
the same time, he said, the Seychelles has enacted its own legislation
and regulations, as well as welcoming international agreements
to exchange information and establish links for investigative
purposes. Mr Michel stated:
'The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 1996, for instance, criminalises
money laundering, and requires financial institutions to maintain
identification procedures, record-keeping procedures and to make
orders in relation to the proceeds of crime and properties of
offenders and to designate money-laundering as an extraditable
offence. That is why we have put in place measures and legislation
that reflect our commitment to fight money laundering and organised
crime.' It was inevitable,
perhaps, that the Vice President should touch on the thorny issue
of the G-7 efforts to clamp down on offshore financial centres.
Obviously referring to the Financial Action Task Force and OECD
blacklists of earlier this year, he said that that it was an area
of concern that some international agencies have "inappropriately
labelled" offshore jurisdictions as havens for money launderers.
He said it was grossly unfair and penalises legitimate offshore
jurisdictions which operate in a legal and transparent manner:
'Offshore centres, when well managed and controlled, offer a legitimate
alternative in the international investment arena,' he stated. .
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