The government of Antigua has begun criminal inquiries into large payments discovered in Isle of Man bank accounts controlled by Antiguan politicians.
Disclosure of these Caribbean corruption inquiries comes at an unwelcome time for the Isle of Man, described by the chancellor, Alastair Darling, as "a tax haven sitting in the Irish Sea". The island is under review by the UK government, which subsidises its low-tax regime.
According to documents seen by the Guardian, HSBC bank, in the Isle of Man, accepted $3.2m (£2.3m) on behalf of Asot Michael, once chief of staff to the former Antigua prime minister Lester Bird.
The Bank of Bermuda refused to handle a similar account and filed a "suspicious activity report" before the further account was opened on the Isle of Man, according to investigators' reports
Another $1.4m in total was paid into HSBC Manx accounts belonging to a former Antiguan high commissioner in London, Sir Ronald Sanders.
All deny the allegations, I should add, including HSBC.
But the money was there. And why was it there? It does not look good for the Isle of Man which, of course, issues regular protestations on its financial cleanliness.
It would, of course be much easier to find if only the Isle of man stopped acting as a tax haven and required that financial and legal data concerning all entities incorporated there was put on public record for all to see. It refuses to do so — making it a secrecy jurisdiction.
As the Guardian also notes:
Banks are facilitating international corruption by doing business with the world's dictators, according to a report today by an anti-corruption campaign group. Global Witness calls for banks to work harder to turn away business from individuals who pose a corruption risk. It also demands an end to tax haven "secrecy jurisdictions", saying: "The most important change is to ensure that every country produces full public online registers of the ultimate beneficial ownership of all companies and trusts."
Banks named in the report include Barclays, who the campaign group says kept open an account for the son of the dictator of Equatorial Guinea, despite evidence of looting of oil revenues. Barclays declined to comment because of client confidentiality. Other banks "hid behind bank secrecy laws" to frustrate US inquiries, the report says.
Banks are also alleged to have facilitated the activities of Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, now on trial at The Hague for war crimes. A German bank is alleged to have assisted the late president of Turkmenistan to keep gas revenues under his personal control.
Dozens of other international banks are accused of providing oil-backed loans to the state oil company of Angola, which has been accused of corruption and secret arms deals.
Gavin Hayman, campaigns director of Global Witness, said: "The same lax regulation that created the credit crunch has let some of the world's biggest banks facilitate the looting of natural resource wealth from poor countries.
"Government must take responsibility to stop banks doing business with corrupt dictators and their families."
I agree with Gavin.
I’ll link to that report as soon as I can.
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You all are a bunch of hypocrites. For years, way into the late 80’s, you all knew what was happening with the cleansing of bad money, of dirty money; yet, it served your purpose to let it continue. You all knew who was banking it where and what was happening. When Escobar was killed, you all knew that no one was going to claim his money, and that the banks were going to be the beneficiary. You allowed the banks to operate with the hope that they too would also benefit from the sanctioning of drug lords by the CIA and DEA. It was going to be shared around by your kind. The only reason why you are acting sanctimonious now and going after “tax havens” is because of the current financial situation which is laying bare a lot of these underworld dealings.
Woe unto you all, you two-faced denizens. Some of us knew that while evil rules the world, there is a method to its reign which sometimes see some get their comeuppance.
I would tell you to look at this article: http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/Isle-of-Man-misrepresented-in.5064518.jp but then again you’ll just deny everything said. Then again how can we know who is in the right?
As you can see, Bermuda’s anti-money laundering laws are in place and work! Supports was I have been telling you all along, you cannot make general comments about off-shore financial centers. Each must be viewed based on facts (their own merit).
NE
The only reason that the UK and the UK press are going after the supposed “Tax havens” is due to their need to deflect there own enormous neglect leading to the current crisis. The UK does not subsidise the Isle of Man economy at all, if anything the UK benefits directly from the Islands residents due to the extortionate hidden stealth taxes brought in by the inept socialist government currently trying to govern and also VAT which we on the Island still have to pay despite having our own ability to set taxes.
I am curious to know if the same deposit transaction refused by the Bank of Bermuda was then successfully made to the HSBC, or was it a different deposit attempted some time later that was successfully completed?… The Bank of Bermuda was bought by the HSBC at some point in the last few years!
To Whom It May Concern:
HSBC is spending billions of dollars on a charm offensive to convince you to bank with it. At airport terminals around the world and in slick magazines, HSBC says they care about what we value and they are “the world’s local bank.”
HSBC Offshore (Jersey) wants you to believe that your personal data is safe and your banking details are confidential with them. . HSBC is selling its customers out. This blog blows the whistle.
The truth is that HSBC spreads misinformation about customer credit risk and then refuses to discuss its allegations by hiding behind HSBC Terms and Conditions. It cuts its customers off without explanation.
HSBC is so big now that they can afford to abuse and lose any single customer for no reason or any reason.
If you are a past or present employee or client of HSBC Jersey please step forward and share what you know.
Truthblow