UK Clarifies: Anti-Corruption Only Applies to Other People's Tax Havens
Apparently, an anti-corruption summit is scheduled, which is always delightful. Yet, the BVI, a noted hub for dodging taxes and laundering funds, will only open its books to those with a 'legitimate interest' – definition pending, presumably by the people with the most to hide. This sidesteps UK legislation from 2008 intended to enforce transparency. One might wonder if 'legitimate interest' here
means 'don't look too closely at the crown jewels.' The British government, ever a staunch defender of global financial integrity (when it suits them), seems content allowing a critical nexus of global financial opacity to remain opaque. Such concessions aren't 'caving-in'; they are the deliberate maintenance of a system that benefits powerful, often unseen, interests. How many anti-corruption
summits must we endure before the UK decides its own tax havens are worth cleaning up?