French Parliamentary Committee Report Slates UK Money Laundering Laws

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

11 October 2001

A French parliamentary committee on financial crime has unveiled a 400-page report that condemn's Britain's attitude towards money laundering suggesting a tightening up of regulations on London City-based financial services and the dismantling of offshore tax havens such as the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar.

The report, which was a year in the making, criticised the UK's banks for being too secretive, political leaders for being too forgiving, and the authorities for not having enough resources. It argued that now Britain had pledged to join forces around the world to freeze the funding activities of terrorists, it was more urgent than ever to strengthen its anti-money laundering rules.

The report stated: 'The City, stronghold of world finance, continues to largely ignore its duties in the domain of money laundering ... [it is] an impenetrable fortress with a status, rights and customs of its own, a closed universe where every financier, banker or businessman chooses silence above all else. Great Britain must also dismantle the legal and banking havens of the crown dependencies and the 'overseas' territories for which it has a particular responsibility .. It is high time that Europe got worried about sheltering in its midst these veritable machines that launder criminal money [these tax havens had] at least the tacit if not explicit backing of the United Kingdom.'

Recommended