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Bank secrecy, illicit money and offshore financial centers

Author

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  • PICARD, Pierre

    (Université du Luxembourg, CREA, L-1511 Luxembourg; Université catholique de Louvain, CORE, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.)

  • PIERETTI, Patrice

    (Université du Luxembourg, CREA, L-1511 Luxembourg)

Abstract

This paper discusses the effects of pressure policies on offshore financial centers as well as their ability to enforce the compliance of those centers with anti-money laundering regulations. Offshore banks can be encouraged to comply with rigorous monitoring of an investor's identity and the origin of his/her funds when pressure creates a sufficiently high risk of reputational harm to the investor. We show that such pressure policies harm both offshore and onshore investors and can benefit both the bank industry and tax administrations. We show that social optimal pressure policies are dichotomous decisions between no pressure at all and a pressure great enough to persuade offshore banks to comply. The delegation of pressure policies to onshore tax institutions may be inefficient. Deeper financial integration fosters compliance by the offshore center.

Suggested Citation

  • PICARD, Pierre & PIERETTI, Patrice, 2010. "Bank secrecy, illicit money and offshore financial centers," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2010018, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvco:2010018
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    1. Picard, Pierre M. & Pieretti, Patrice, 2011. "Bank secrecy, illicit money and offshore financial centers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 942-955, August.
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    4. Oral H. Williams & Esther C. Suss & Chandima Mendis, 2005. "Offshore Financial Centres in the Caribbean: Prospects in a New Environment," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 1173-1188, August.
    5. FitzGerald, Valpy, 2004. "Global financial information, compliance incentives and terrorist funding," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 387-401, June.
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    7. Slemrod, Joel & Wilson, John D., 2009. "Tax competition with parasitic tax havens," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(11-12), pages 1261-1270, December.
    8. Kanbur, Ravi & Keen, Michael, 1993. "Jeux Sans Frontieres: Tax Competition and Tax Coordination When Countries Differ in Size," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 877-892, September.
    9. Desai, Mihir A. & Foley, C. Fritz & Hines, James Jr., 2006. "The demand for tax haven operations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 513-531, February.
    10. Donato Masciandaro, 2005. "False and Reluctant Friends? National Money Laundering Regulation, International Compliance and Non-Cooperative Countries," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 17-30, July.
    11. Abbott, Kenneth W. & Snidal, Duncan, 2000. "Hard and Soft Law in International Governance," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 421-456, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Picard, Pierre M. & Pieretti, Patrice, 2011. "Bank secrecy, illicit money and offshore financial centers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 942-955, August.
    2. Päivi Karhunen & Svetlana Ledyaeva & Keith D. Brouthers, 2022. "Capital Round-Tripping: Determinants of Emerging Market Firm Investments into Offshore Financial Centers and Their Ethical Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(1), pages 117-137, November.
    3. Fernando, Garcia Alvarado & Antoine, Mandel, 2022. "The network structure of global tax evasion evidence from the Panama papers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 660-684.
    4. Pieretti, Patrice & Pulina, Giuseppe, 2024. "A game-theoretic analysis of international tax compliance," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Tobias Hauck, 2019. "Lobbying and the international fight against tax havens," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 21(3), pages 537-557, June.
    6. Raffaella Barone & Domenico Delle Side & Donato Masciandaro, 2018. "Drug trafficking, money laundering and the business cycle: Does secular stagnation include crime?," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 409-426, May.
    7. Patrice Pieretti & Giuseppe Pulina, 2015. "Tax havens under international pressure: How do they react?," DEM Discussion Paper Series 15-03, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    8. Olga Balakina & Angelo D’Andrea & Donato Masciandaro, 2017. "Bank secrecy in offshore centres and capital flows: Does blacklisting matter?," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(1), pages 30-57, January.
    9. Shastitko. Andrey (Шаститко, Андрей) & Komkova, Anastasia Andreevna (Комкова, Анастасия Андреевна) & Kurdin, Alexander (Курдин, Александр) & Shastitko, Anastasia (Шаститко, Анастасия), 2016. "Competition Policy and Incentives for Innovation [Конкурентная Политика И Стимулы К Инновационной Деятельности]," Working Papers 1447, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    10. Ciprian MANEA & Alina PARINCU, 2018. "Reputational Banking Risks through Offshore Transactions: Benefits of Neuro-Management," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 3, pages 143-147.
    11. Ciprian MANEA & Alina PARINCU, 2018. "Reputational Banking Risks through Offshore Transactions: Benefits of Neuro-Management," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 3, pages 143-147.
    12. Raffaella Barone & Donato Masciandaro, 2011. "Organized crime, money laundering and legal economy: theory and simulations," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 115-142, August.
    13. Marchiori, Luca & Pierrard, Olivier, 2018. "Unlocking the gates of paradise: General equilibrium effects of information exchange," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 152-172.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    money laundering; offshore banking; compliance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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