Offshore investors are not just the uber rich highlighted by the Panama Papers. Many are hardworking people looking for better returns and more flexibility
The leak of 11.5m confidential documents from the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca has brought the international financial services industry under global scrutiny as never before. The furore is hardly surprising. The Panama Papers propose that the firm might beget facilitated money laundering,sanctions busting and/or tax avoiding by its mega-wealthy clients, who include heads of state, or senior politicians,business leaders and celebrities, on an unprecedented scale.
It all makes for compelling headlines and I’m sure there is more to near. This is probably the biggest scandal to hit the global financial services industry. However, or the murky,hidden world that has been portrayed over the final two weeks is not the global financial services business that I recognise. It is simply not representative of the wider industry. Just because some individuals may beget used offshore financial centres for illegal purposes does not mean that everyone does. Clearly.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com