TJN has an important blog on its site by Rudolf Elmer, who also comments here on occasion. Rudolf is a whistleblower in what really happens in tax havens.
As he notes, not all is quite as some would like to suggest it is in these places:
[O]ffshore employees might be instructed by the management to "clean the records" and remove from the data base instructions such as:
• Do not contact the Settlor in America!
• Client is highly sensitive regarding telephone security and always confirm identity of Settlor before disclosing information;
• The secret code is "Rainbow";
• Use only his mobile number (xx xxx xxx xxx);
• No communication with client on work address or email;
• Change of trust name from "Sugar Spoon" to "Coffee Cup";
• When making distribution to the Settlor do not say "Distribution" say donation;
• This Trust has a "Dummy Settlor";
• The trust should be treated for US tax purposes only as owned by another person;
• And many more!As a reasonable employee this gets you thinking, and I believe it is fair to say that all those remarks point in a direction where an ethical and moral person is in a conflict and has reasonable grounds to believe that the employer is not complying with the law.
However, what would you (and I mean you!) do when you are confronted with such a request from management?
I tell you! And I tell you straight: 99 % of all employees would do as instructed by the management. Why does this happen even though it goes against the employee's moral and ethical standards?
It is simple: any employee who speaks up faces instant job loss; and when employees go public and become whistleblowers they place their own (and their family's) future in serious jeopardy.
I believe Rudolf.
He worked for Swiss bank Julius Baer in Cayman.
But I accept: this is his word against most of the rest. Except there's another reason for believing him. It's called UBS.
When names like that are clearly corrupt why should we believe the stories that the rest offer in their defence?
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There is another way in which employers in the financial services industry keep employees from speaking up, without needing to go to the hassle of sacking or making am employee redundant – the bonus system. If the majority of your pay is loaded towards a single year end payment which is entirely discretionary, most employees are highly incentivised not to rock the boat…
I might add Mr Elmer was not just an employee, but the MD of the Swiss bank Julius Baer in Cayman, so was not be instructed to issue these instructions but was the one implementing them, I should now I worked for him.
As for his “whistleblowing”, and the whole “leaking” on wikileaks, as you know Richard, if you suspect money laundering is occuring you contact your MLO. By his ‘whistleblowing” he has tipped off those he suspects and as such has broken the law.
Then of course there were the bomb threats.
Mr Elmer is not a very good source, as his disreagrd for international, Cayman and Swiss laws suggest, just a disgruntled employee.
Creg
Interesting: you don’t deny it happened or is happening, but as ever you look for the loopholes to avoid responsibility.
And as we know: Cayman and Switzerland would probably have ignored the information.
Look at the NAO report on Cayman:http://www.nao.org.uk/system_pages/idoc.ashx?docid=2fc5f639-d1b2-4f00-b257-973ba142fd7a&version=-1
– 2 prosecutions ever on Cayman. A non-event.
Richard
A deeply disturbing case for all concerned, whichever stance you take. Nobody can possibly come out of it with any credit whatsoever. It certainly doesn’t do Cayman or Switzerland any favours at all, and in the latter’s case hard on the heels of UBS its devastating.
Dear Creg,
It appears that you are not informed correctly and even so having worked for me. I was never the MD, I was COO and Chief Accountant. In addition Cayman has nothing to do with those instructions mentioned in my article. You point the finger in the wrong direction! Those come from another confidential source and are unfortunately very current.
May I kindly ask you not to spread any rumours whatever those are!
I am more than happy to talk to you if you have to courage to get in contact with me.
Rudolf Elmer
Rudolf Elmer