Less than a month after the humiliation of Cyprus, a popular bolthole for Russia’s financial ne’er-do-wells, tax havens have been hit with their own version of the WikiLeaks diplomatic-cables scandal
Will 2013 turn out to be an annus horribilis for the offshore financial world? Less than a month after the humiliation of Cyprus, a popular bolthole for Russia’s financial ne’er-do-wells, tax havens have been hit with their own version of the WikiLeaks diplomatic-cables scandal. Armed with a cache of more than 2m documents, leaked from two offshore service providers, a group of investigative journalists has spent the past week publishing articles that lift the lid on thousands of companies and trusts set up in the British Virgin Islands and Cook Islands. The vast client list ranges from Asian politicians to Canadian lawyers—and no fewer than 4,000 Americans. For an industry that peddles secrecy and likes to operate in the shadows it is all rather embarrassing.
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