News and commentary about white-collar crime, enforcement, and compliance
Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
Nigeria has moved to ground a luxury private jet that a former oil minister purchased by allegedly using his illicit cut of a $1.3 billion oil deal. The Nigerian government’s asset recovery lawyers seized the aircraft after it landed at Montreal-Trudeau airport towards the end of last month.… Continue Reading
As somebody who has argued that open public corporate registers of Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) information are a flawed concept, I was somewhat surprised when one of the UK overseas territories suddenly decided to go it alone, after many arguments that the territories offered more robust company register systems than the UK.… Continue Reading
Danske Bank appears to have been used to launder $8.3 billion between 2007 and 2015 on behalf of individuals and entities located in Estonia. The bank’s punishment so far? A “stern ticking off,” as Bloomberg put it, and a request by Denmark’s banking regulator to hold more capital.… Continue Reading
I have had several dealings with the Panama Papers law firm, Mossack Fonseca, over the years, while trying to identify its clients who had wronged my own.
Despite acquiring the appropriate court disclosure order forcing Mossack Fonseca to reveal the identity of a client patron (accused of some form of wrongdoing by my clients), the firm was difficult to deal with: the level of cooperation appeared to randomly fluctuate between non-existent and half-baked.… Continue Reading
My adopted home of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has implemented what is known as the BOSS Act (or to give it its full title, the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act), that received its assent in June last year.… Continue Reading
I have decided to don my tin hat and stick my head above the parapets again. Why? Because for once common sense has prevailed and the anti-1% brigade have lost their argument for an open Public Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and her sister islands in the Caribbean.… Continue Reading
Since my initial post for the FCPA Blog on the Paradise Papers, I have read a lot of arguments against requiring increased transparency of anonymous companies, including a recent post on this blog, so I thought it would be useful to address some of these arguments and present another perspective.… Continue Reading
I have a great deal of respect for Martin Kenney’s efforts in taking fraudsters to task and recovering funds on behalf of their victims. However, I found his recent post for the FCPA Blog about the so-called Paradise Papers to be deeply misguided.… Continue Reading
The recent revelations arising out of the publication of the Paradise Papers have been gleefully seized upon by anti-corruption and tax justice campaigners.
Writing in the FCPA Blog, Shruti Shah of the Coalition For Integrity (formerly Transparency International USA) seems to have jumped onto the “anything offshore is evil” bandwagon.… Continue Reading
In July new research from the University of Amsterdam looking at Offshore Financial Centers claimed to expose the “five largest value conduits in the [offshore] world” — the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore and Ireland.… Continue Reading
The United States champions itself as a nation policing the rest of the world, preventing money laundering, tax evasion and foreign corrupt practices. Yet there is hypocrisy afoot.
When news of the Panama Papers scandal broke, my place of residence — the British Virgin Islands (BVI) — came under extreme pressure and scrutiny.… Continue Reading
Transparency International’s Max Heywood recently posted an article on TI’s website asking if the British Virgin Islands — from where I operate a cross-border fraud and asset recovery law firm — has “cleaned up” since the publication of the so-called Panama Papers.… Continue Reading