A mere four years after the FATFﾴs blacklisting exercise, Offshore Centres, particularly The Bahamas, continue to feel the impact of the action imposed upon The Bahamas.
Despite its myriad attempts at complying with the OECDﾴs demands as relayed through the FATF, Offshore Centres remain mired in uncertainty as the FATF continues to find ways to frustrate business in the Offshore Centres under the guise of fighting money laundering and terrorism.
As the Swiss have proven reliance on the law is the strongest defense against power and might, which would try to undermine a countryﾴs sovereignty as happened with the FATF blacklisting.
When the argument is made that the Constitution of The Bahamas afforded The Bahamas a more rational and measured approach to the FATF attacks, industry experts aver that is an intellectual argument which could not stand in the face of more practical concerns, namely that the OECD could have hurt the jurisdiction and as one expert observed, no government would have wanted to look stupid for losing all those jobs.
It has been observed that those who do not know history are bound to repeat its mistakes.
Seventy years ago, Switzerland found itself under similar attack. Its long established bank secrecy, which was protected in its Federal Civil Code came under attack from its very powerful neighbours France and Germany, who were demanding that Switzerland abandon its bank secrecy. The Swiss took refuge in the law and the lawﾴs ability to protect even in the face of seemingly overpowering offence.
The Swiss experience indicates that despite appearance of might and power, that a rational and reasoned approach is in fact the most practical approach guaranteed to provide the protection and economic stability required.
In 1932 the effects of the great crash of 1929 which saw billionaires and millionaires gladly leap to their deaths from New York skyscrapers, than face the inferno of bankruptcy, want and shame, were still very much alive throughout the US and Europe.
In Europe, fearing a similar catastrophe, those with money had deposited their assets with Swiss bankers, some of whom traveled to Paris to meet their clients during this turbulent period.
The president and vice president of Handelsbank, a Swiss commercial bank, were in Paris when they were arrested by French authorities, who were very much against French citizens placing their assets beyond the reach of their government.
What made the arrest noteworthy is that the two bankers had within their possession, 2,000 names of France’s prominent citizens, all clients of the bank. Among the bank’s French clients were “a few senators
