Caruana Hits Back At Money Laundering Allegations

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

27 November 2001

The Gibraltarian Chief Minister, Peter Caruana, responded yesterday to a Financial Times editorial which suggested that the UK-dependent offshore jurisdiction is lax in its anti-money laundering and anti-smuggling practices.

Although Mr Caruana took particular exception to the suggestion that: 'Spain has some legitimate complaints about Gibraltar's tolerance of smuggling and money laundering,', the whole tone of the article, which advocated shared sovereignty between the United Kingdom and Spain, is likely to have angered inhabitants of the Rock.

The November 19th editorial piece referred to the Gibraltar dispute, which is of paramount importance to the offshore jurisdiction's over 30,000 inhabitants, as 'a stone in the shoe' of the Spanish government, referring back to the words of the former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez. It also slammed Mr Caruana personally, criticising his refusal to attend the summit meetings with the Spanish and British Foreign Ministers on an unequal footing, and warning that if the Gibraltarian authorities are not prepared to compromise over the issue of sovereignty, 'they will get short shrift from Britain'.

However, in his response to the article, Mr Caruana contented himself with reassuring FT readers that the territory's anti-money laundering and anti-smuggling laws fulfil all European Union standards. 'Our money laundering standards are identical with the UK's and are rigorously enforced by the Royal Gibraltar Police and the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, both of which are the responsibility of, and report and account to, the UK through the Foreign Office appointed governor,' he argued.

He ended with a barb directed at the Spanish authorities, whom even according to the article in question have: 'too often tried to make life as difficult as possible for Gibraltarians'.

'We rightly enjoy a reputation as one of the world's foremost, reputable and well regulated international finance centres,' he asserted, adding that: 'Only Spain, for political reasons, asserts the contrary.'

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