Treasure Islands: Dirty Money, Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole Your Cash

Home > Other > Treasure Islands: Dirty Money, Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole Your Cash > Page 36
Treasure Islands: Dirty Money, Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole Your Cash Page 36

by Nicholas Shaxson


  4.“Double Tax Treaties and Tax Information Exchange Agreements: What Advantages for Developing Countries?” Misereor, February 2010.

  5.“Tax for Development,” OECD Observer, December 2009–January 2010.

  6.Campaigns have been established to pursue this. See, for example, Tax Justice Focus 6, no. 1 (2010), which explores land value taxation.

  7.This example of the street musician is borrowed from Henry Law, “A Tax That Is Not a Tax,” Tax Justice Focus 6, no. 1 (2010), www.taxjustice.net.

  8.Raymond Baker, “Transparency First,” The American Interest, July–August 2010.

  9.This last paragraph is taken from my article coauthored with Raymond Baker and John Christensen in the September–October 2008 edition of the American Interest, entitled “Catching Up with Corruption.”

  INDEX

  Abacha, Sani, 127

  Abalone, 138

  Abedi, Agha Hassan, 133–4

  accountants, 7–9, 12–14, 16, 25, 79, 98–9, 101, 121, 130, 133, 142, 159, 161, 180, 184, 202–5, 208–9, 214–15, 217, 222, 226–7, 231, 249n5

  adversarial legal system (Anglo-Saxon), 2

  Africa

  blaming, 8, 29, 183

  and “capital flight,” 139–40

  and developing nations: See developing nations

  fleecing of, 136–40

  and oil, 1–4, 7–9, 19–20, 23, 36, 69, 105, 138–9

  post-colonialism, 2–8

  poverty in, 2, 131

  and taxation, 146–7

  See Angola; Gabon; Nigeria; South Africa; Uganda

  “aged shelf company,” 121

  Alexander, Henry, 75

  American Beef Trust, 36, 41

  American Express, 103

  American International Group (AIG), 67, 132, 218

  Anatomy of Britain (Sampson), 64

  Andorra, 17, 26

  Angola, 1, 4, 84, 136–40, 249n18, 250n21,25

  Anguilla, 87

  Anstee, Nick, 71

  Argentina, 35–8, 40, 42, 46–7, 58, 95–6, 142–3, 156–7, 173, 238n2

  Arkansas, 120

  Armour, Philip D., 36

  arms trafficking, 131, 136–7, 178, 249n16,17

  Arthur Andersen, 204, 253n1

  Asset-Backed Securities Facilitation Act (2002), 201

  Attlee, Clement, 72

  audits, 202–5, 208–9, 214–15, 249n5

  Australia, 7, 24, 26–7, 33

  Austria, 17, 223

  Autogue, Mr., 1–2, 5

  automatic information exchange, 167, 222–3

  Bahamas, 10, 18–19, 27, 38, 44, 79, 82, 89–90, 97, 99, 101, 111, 113, 117, 171–5, 177, 179, 244n59,4

  Bakan, Joel, 158

  Baker, Raymond, 29, 109, 139–40, 226, 246n4

  balance-of-payments deficit, 107–8, 112, 116

  Banco Mercantil de São Paulo, 172

  Bank of America, 22, 103, 236n27

  Bank of China, 71, 81

  Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), 132–6, 165–6, 204, 249n5,13

  Bank of England, 63–6, 75–6, 78–82, 86, 89, 91–3, 97, 104, 114, 134–6, 166, 217, 231, 241n9, 244n65, 245n30

  Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 169, 212, 233n2, 256n40

  Bank and Trust Company Insurance Powers Act (1989), 201

  Barclays (Britain), 19, 99, 104–5, 148

  Basler Handelsbank, 157

  Batista, Fulgencio, 88

  Bear Stearns, 68, 212–13

  bearer bonds, 75–6, 117

  Becerra, Larry, 81

  Beckler, Henry, 194

  Belgium, 17, 97, 104

  Benn, Tony, 104

  Bennett, Jack, 108

  Berlusconi, Silvio, 131

  Bermuda (British overseas territory), 14, 18, 23, 26, 87, 89, 96, 148, 227, 234n12 “Big Bang” (1986), 66, 85, 115, 182, 212

  Big Four accounting firms, 25, 33, 165, 202, 222, 253n1

  See Deloitte; Ernst & Young; KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers

  Big Pharma, 165

  Biondi, Frank, 194–7, 199, 200–1, 254n4

  Birkenfeld, Bradley, 177–8

  Black, Bernard, 124

  Blair, Tony, 73, 127

  blame-the-victim, 8, 29, 140–4, 183

  Blood Bankers (Henry), 140–1

  Blum, Jack, 31, 102, 105–6, 111–13, 132–5, 169

  Bockel, Jean-Marie, 6

  Bodden, Roy, 95–6

  Boeing, 22

  Bond, James, 80

  Bongo, Omar, 2–6, 233n7

  Bonlat Financing, 166

  Bono (musician), 17, 192

  Bordieu, Pierre, 30

  Boston Consulting Group, 142

  Botswana, 19

  Bout, Victor, 178

  BP, 22

  Bravakis, Ted, 181

  Brazil, 26, 37, 98, 143, 156, 169, 172, 174, 223

  Bretton Woods Conference (1944), 55–8, 63, 130, 240n17, 246n11

  bribes, 3, 6, 17, 29, 89, 113, 127, 133, 176, 229, 246n4

  British Caribbean, 22, 27, 67, 75, 79, 87–106, 114–15, 133, 150, 161, 172, 245n10, 247n18

  British Crown Dependencies, 16, 17–20, 25, 69, 79, 87–8, 92, 103–5, 115–16, 146, 236n23

  See Guernsey; Isle of Man; Jersey

  British empire, 8, 16–20, 35–7, 40, 49–50, 54–5, 65–6, 75–6, 86, 87–8, 92, 97, 109, 129, 147, 185, 224, 235n18,20, 236n23, 241n9

  British meatpackers, 35–47

  British Overseas Territories, 17, 19, 25, 79, 87, 90–2, 103, 236n23, 31

  See Bermuda; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Gibraltar; Turks and Caicos

  British Queen, 18, 47, 71, 87, 94, 103–4

  British tax havens, 16, 17–25, 31, 68–9, 85, 87–106, 108, 128–9, 147, 223–4

  center of: See City of London loopholes, 67–8, 99–100, 110, 112, 175, 223, 241n15

  reform of, 224

  as spiderweb, 18–25, 31, 68–9, 85, 87–106, 108, 128–9, 147, 224

  statistics on, 17

  and Sterling Area, 92

  See British crown dependencies; British overseas territories; British zones of influence; City of London; Offshore Magic Circle

  British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory), 16, 18, 27, 87, 147, 236n30

  British zones of influence

  See Bahamas; Botswana; Dubai; Ghana; Hong Kong; Ireland; Singapore; Vanuatu

  Brittain-Catlin, William, 166

  Brown, Gordon, 168, 187

  Brown, J. Robert, 124

  Brown, Pat, 97

  Buchanan, James, 151, 161

  Bueller, Cory, 126

  Buffett, Warren, 32

  bundling, 43, 159

  Burke, Edmund, 206

  Burn, Gary, 67, 75, 241n9, 243n43

  Bush, George H. W., 22, 151, 160

  Bush, George W., 84, 112, 120, 152, 167–9, 236n31

  and “on request” information, 167–9

  tax loophole, 112

  tax regulation, 120

  Business and Investors Against Tax Haven Abuse, 15

  Cain, P. J., 66

  capital controls, 56–61, 63, 82, 84, 240n16,17, 246n11

  “capital flight,” 20, 30, 53–4, 57–8, 93, 97, 110, 139–43, 160, 183, 250n26

  European flight capital (1930s), 58

  capital flows, 9, 18, 20–1, 28–30, 32, 50–61, 63, 75, 78, 80, 82, 84–5, 92–3, 108–9, 112, 127, 130–1, 138–40, 144, 164–5, 183, 217, 219, 221–2, 237n44, 240n16,17, 241n9, 246n4,11, 257n50

  controls on: See capital controls and corporations, 29

  free, 55–7, 219

  inflows, 21, 30, 58–60, 109, 165, 237n44, 241n9

  and Keynes, 50–61

  and language, 30

  outflows, 30, 75, 92, 112, 138–9, 183, 217, 237n44, 241n9

  and social capital, 164–5

  See capital controls

  capital gains tax, 155, 162–3

  Capone, Al, 88

  Carlisle, Rodney, 23

  Carter, Jimmy, 114, 117, 20
0

  Carteret, George, 106

  Carville, James, 52

  Cary, William, 124

  “casino banking,” 67

  Castle Bank and Trust (Cayman) Ltd., 100–1

  Castro, Fidel, 88–9, 93, 99

  Cato Institute, 150, 155, 163

  Cayman Islands (British overseas territory), 6, 10, 12–13, 18–19, 23–4, 26–7, 44, 46, 74, 79, 82, 87, 90–6, 99–103, 106, 125–6, 128, 132–5, 161, 163, 165–7, 171–92, 211–12, 214–15, 223, 234n12, 235n22, 236n31, 243n59, 248n39, 256n40

  British power structure within, 18, 94

  and Confidential Relationships (Preservation) Law, 101–2

  and denial of tax haven status, 12–13

  and drug money, 101–2

  employment in, 171–92

  and Enron, 23

  and hedge funds, 26

  history of as tax haven, 90–6

  “Star Trust,” 46

  statistics on, 18

  Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), 214–15

  Center for Freedom and Prosperity (CF&P), 150, 160

  Center for International Policy (Washington, D.C.), 29

  Central Bank of Philippines, 141

  Chait, Jonathan, 170

  Chang, Ha-Joon, 59

  Charles II of England, 72–3, 104

  Chase Manhattan, 107–8, 112, 114, 172, 197

  Chase National Bank, 194–7, 200–1

  chasse gardée, 3

  Chenoweth, Neil, 7

  Chicago, 36, 40–1, 61, 125

  meatpackers, 36, 40–1

  China, 1, 12, 14, 16, 27, 36–7, 60, 71, 81, 85, 88, 105–6, 121, 147–8, 164, 169, 217

  and Britain, 105–6

  statistics on oil, 1

  Chirac, Jacques, 4

  Christensen, John, 19, 103–4, 115–16, 146, 150, 170, 182–91, 207, 233n1

  Churchill, Winston, 49

  CIMA: See Cayman Islands Monetary Authority

  Cisco, 14

  Citicorp (Citibank), 8, 80–1, 141–2, 152, 194–6, 201

  Citigroup, 20, 68, 103

  Citizens for Tax Justice, 112, 159, 170

  City of London (England, U.K.), 17–19, 24, 26, 54–5, 61, 63–86, 87–8, 98, 103, 105–6, 109, 115, 129–30, 134, 136, 147–8, 182, 212, 222, 224, 235n18, 236n23,25,28, 239n13, 242n27,32,34, 243n36,37,42, 244n72

  and Britain’s offshore spiderweb, 68–9

  and the Caribbean, 87–106

  central organization of, 70–4

  See City of London Corporation

  and City Cash, 74

  controlling role of, 45–6, 96–6

  and “domicile” rule, 69

  global reach of, 18

  history of, 63–86, 87

  See “Big Bang”; Euromarkets and international financial deregulation, 85–6

  and lending, 76–8

  and “London-grad,” 69

  and loopholes, 67–8

  as old boys network, 64–5

  and “rehypothecation,” 68

  and secrecy, 69

  and Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), 26

  tentacles of: See British Crown Dependencies; British overseas territories; British zones of influence and the U.S., 67–8, 78–84

  City of London Corporation (Corporation of London), 70–4, 76, 85–6, 224, 242n25, 243n36–37, 244n72

  head of: See Lord Mayor of London

  history of, 71–2

  and voting rights, 71

  civil society, 170

  Clinton, Bill, 52, 119–20, 150, 160

  Clinton, Hillary, 30, 58

  Coalition for Tax Competition, 150

  Cold War, 75, 109, 138

  Coleman, Norm, 121

  Colombia, 26, 101, 111, 133, 136

  Medellin drug cartel, 101, 133

  colonialism, 2–8, 20, 23, 65, 88–9, 93–5, 104–5, 117, 138, 147, 161, 184

  Commodity Futures Trading

  Committee (CFTC), 68

  Compact of Free Association, 22

  comparative advantage theory, 16

  competition, tax, 149–56

  Confidential Relationships (Preservation) Law, 101–2

  Congdon, Tim, 66

  ConocoPhilips, 22

  Cook, Geoff, 168

  Cornfeld, Bernie, 97–8

  corporate governance, 39, 85, 122–5, 201–2

  corporate responsibility, 228–9

  The Corporation (Bakan), 158

  Corporation Trust (Delaware), 125–6

  corruption, 126–8, 229

  Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), 126

  country-by-country reporting, 222

  Cowperthwaite, Sir John, 105

  Craven, John, 81

  credit cards, 193–201

  criminal money

  See arms trafficking; bribes; drug money; mob/mafia; terrorist financing

  Crocodile Dundee, 33

  Crook, Kenneth, 93–5

  Cuba, 88–9, 93

  currency trading, 63–4, 70

  Cyprus, 10, 27, 33, 138, 238n52

  Dai Xianglong, 86

  Davison, Daniel, 81

  Deepwater Horizon, 22

  de la Torre, Lisandro, 36, 38, 46–7

  de Rugy, Veronique, 150

  deferrals, tax, 112–13

  Delaware, 22, 26, 39–40, 120–1, 123–6, 150, 166, 193–201, 204, 207–12, 214, 222, 228, 247n31, 248n34,39,42, 254n3,4, 255n18, 256n40

  Chancery Court, 124–5, 248n34

  Corporation Trust office, 125–6

  history of offshoring, 39–40, 123–6

  and jurisdictions, 193–201, 204, 207–12, 214

  and securitization/bundling, 26, 125

  and usury, 193–5, 200, 204

  Delaware Statutory Trust Act (1988), 201

  DeLay, Tom, 160–1

  Deloitte & Touche, 25, 202, 209

  DeLong, Bradford, 49, 55, 158–9

  democracy, 7–8, 13, 31, 33, 42, 56, 71, 82, 102, 113, 123, 129, 131, 144–8, 162, 164, 170, 182, 185, 189, 192, 195–6, 198, 206, 210, 212, 219, 222, 224

  and taxation, 144–8

  Democratic party, 31, 82, 123, 185, 195, 198, 254n4

  Democratic Republic of Congo, 131

  deregulation, 32, 52, 66, 74–6, 85, 87, 115, 129–30, 132, 155, 159, 182, 193, 200, 209–10, 212, 217

  developing countries, 8, 28–30, 57–60, 91, 93, 97, 100, 108, 126, 129–48, 155–6, 164, 169, 183, 217, 222–5, 227, 229, 236n29, 237n44, 240n22, 246n13, 250n26

  and blame-the-victim, 8, 29, 140–4

  and capital, 57–60

  and capital flight, 139–43

  and mobile phone charges, 148

  and the offshore system, 129–48

  and reform, 223–4

  and sovereign debt funds, 143–4

  and tax, 144–8

  and tax treaties, 147–8

  See Bank of Credit and Commerce International

  Deviers-Joncour, Christine, 5

  Dill, James B., 39

  Disney, 7, 88

  Double, Paul, 73

  double taxation, 26, 41–2, 130, 146

  defined, 26

  “Double Irish,” 14

  drug money, 6, 9, 18, 20, 22, 26–7, 29, 88, 101–2, 111, 120, 131–3, 136

  du Pont, Pierre S. (“Pete”), 194–9

  Dubai, 19

  Duggan, Nick, 165–6

  “Dutch Sandwich,” 14, 117

  Dutch Special Financial Institutions, 27

  Dumas, Roland, 5

  The Economic Consequences of the Peace (Keynes), 50

  Ernst & Young, 25, 202, 205, 209, 249n5

  The Economist, 7, 22, 24, 237n36

  “efficiency,” 16, 41, 53, 130, 153–4, 158–66, 214, 219, 229–30

  Egypt, 65–6, 86

  Elf Aquitaine (France), 2–8, 20, 28, 70, 131, 136

  elites/the rich, 2–4, 6–10, 11, 16–17, 20–3, 26, 30–2, 35, 59, 90–1, 100, 106, 126, 131, 140–5, 148, 157–8, 185, 187, 192, 195, 210, 224
<
br />   Elmer, Rudolf, 147–8, 192, 214–15

  Engels, Friedrich, 104

  Enron, 23, 68, 132, 166, 202, 204, 218

  Eurobonds, 75–6

  Eurodad, 30

  Eurodollar market: See Euromarket

  Euromarkets, 11, 66–7, 75, 77–83, 112, 114, 129–30, 241n11, 243n59

  reserve requirements, 76–8

  Euromoney, 80

  European tax havens, 16–17, 21, 23

  See Austria; Belgium; Euromarkets; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Switzerland

  ExxonMobil, 108

  Fairchild Corp. (U.S.), 2

  Falcone, Pierre, 138

  Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 78, 141

  Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), 165

  FedEx, 22

  Field, Anthony, 100–1

  finance and ownership, 52–3

  financial

  capital: See capital flows

  institutions, 8, 20, 27, 69, 119, 175, 212, 214

  liberalization, 60–1, 67, 75, 86, 204

  Financial Center Development Act (1981), 194, 197–200

  Financial Secrecy Index, 128

  Financial Stability Forum, 169

  Financial Times, 1, 126, 187, 208, 211, 213

  financialization, 51–3, 84 The Firm (Grisham), 181

  First National Bank of Omaha, 193

  flags of convenience, 22–3

  le Floch-Prigent, Loïk, 4

  Florida, 21–2, 89, 101, 110–12, 115, 120–1, 143, 157, 165, 218

  Flowers, Mike, 110

  flows of capital: See capital flows

  food industry, 13–15, 35–40

  See meatpacking

  Foreign Act Development (1986), 200

  Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 17

  Fox News, 7

  France, 1–8, 16, 20, 24–8, 37, 65, 87–8, 97, 104, 108, 111, 116, 131, 136–7, 147, 152, 157, 159, 183, 191, 209, 233n1, 249n16, 251n39

  inquisitorial system, 2

  post-colonial policy in Africa, 2–8

  See Elf Aquitaine

  fraud, 5, 17, 24–7, 29, 59, 102, 113, 120, 131–7, 166–7, 191, 213, 218, 246n4, 249n16

  free market system, 23, 51, 59, 61, 74, 150, 246n4

  Friedman, Milton, 78, 105, 159, 161

  Friedman, Thomas, 51

  Gabon, 1–7, 20, 136

  Galbraith, J. K., 190

  Gaydamak, Arkady, 137–9, 249n16–18, 250n21

  General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (Keynes), 50

  Geneva, 10, 16, 67, 96–7, 137–8, 146, 153, 176, 249n18

  Geoghegan, Thomas, 199–200

  George, Eddie, 76

  Germany, 3, 5, 49, 50, 97, 138, 146–7, 185, 187, 209, 239n13

  Ghana, 19, 65

  Gibraltar (British overseas territory), 18–19, 27, 87

 

‹ Prev