Liechtenstein Expresses Relief At Removal From Blacklist

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

27 June 2001

The Liechtenstein Prime Minister, Otmar Hasler last week expressed his relief that the jurisdiction had been removed from the FATF blacklist of uncooperative countries after exactly a year. Just one hour after the announcement of the decision in Paris, Mr Hasler was triumphantly addressing the media in Vaduz: 'The cancellation of Liechtenstein shows that the immense efforts, which the country took in the past years in fighting money laundering and organised crime, were recognised internationally,' he said.

And indeed, the tiny nation, which was the only European haven on the blacklist, did work extremely hard to ensure its removal. Liechtenstein relies heavily on foreign capital in its banking based economy, and carried out a high profile campaign to root out shady businesses and transactions, fearing that international criticism would deter investors.

Having assembled an all-star team which included Brian Bruh, a long standing US anti-money laundering official, and Ray Kendall, honorary secretary of Interpol, Prince Philipp, brother of the ruling Prince Hans Adem II, set about cleaning up the country's reputation, setting up initiatives such as the establishment of the Institute for Compliance and Quality Management (ICQM) which was designed to teach local professionals how to identify suspicious customers and transactions.

At the beginning of June, Jeffrey Owens, head of fiscal affairs at the OECD pondered Liechtenstein's future: 'The choice for Liechtenstein,' he observed, 'is does it want to become a viable financial services centre that does not have to rely on money laundering and tax evasion?' The principality's answer has just sounded loud and clear.

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