Cayman Lawmakers Rush Into Mulling Money-Launder Laws
7/14/0 15:57 GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP)--In a rush to get off an international
blacklist of money-laundering havens, Cayman Islands lawmakers are set to
consider new legislation Friday to dramatically curtail the secrecy enshrined
in the British Caribbean territory's $600 billion offshore banking business.
Legislators will consider four bills that would make it easier for the
Cayman
Islands Monetary Authority to gain information on bank deposits, obtain
details
about bank clients without a court order and ease restrictions on sharing
information with investigators from other countries.
One bill would also make it a crime to fail to disclose knowledge or
suspicion of money laundering.
In the Bahamas, a former British Caribbean colony, officials have said they
will amend their banking laws later this month.
The moves come six days after the U.S. Treasury Department warned U.S.
banks
to carefully scrutinize transactions with 15 nations, including the Cayman
Islands and Bahamas. All were targeted June 22 in a blacklist by the
Paris-based Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering as "not
cooperating" in the global fight. The task force was set up by the G-7
organization of industrialized nations.
Washington said the advisories aimed at encouraging the 15 countries to to
improve their anti-money laundering regimes, and were agreed to by all the
Group of Seven, which includes Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and
Canada.
Japan and Canada have issued similar advisories to their financial
institutions and Germany said it would do so soon. Officials in Italy have
not
yet commented on their plans.
But Britain, apparently hoping to give its Cayman territory and some former
colonies more time to respond, has not issued any advisories. "We're still
talking about it. We haven't made an announcement yet," said the British
Treasury's money-laundering specialist, Charles Keseru.
The United States issued its warning despite a visit to Washington D.C.
last
week by a Cayman Islands delegation that promised the new money-laundering
laws
would be pushed through speedily. |
