Wealth International, Limited

Offshore News Digest for Week of August 19, 2002


THE U.S. AS MAJOR TAX HAVEN: EXPLANATION

UPI writer explains why and how the US is a major tax haven for foreign investors, and why it should stay that way.

More on this story here.

ARGENTINE EX-PREZ SWISS ACCOUNTS MAJOR ISSUE

BUENOS AIRES. Carlos MENEM lied about his Swiss bank accounts. Now that may cost him his political come back.

More on this story here.

FRENCH-ISRAELI DIRTY CASH SCHEME CONTINUES

PARIS. Judicial actions fail to curb check swapping scheme.

More on this story here.

HONG KONG STILL GATEWAY TO CHINA INVESTMENTS

Hong Kong is home to more than 180 funds that focus on mainland China companies.

More on this story here.

MORE CANADIANS FACE OFFSHORE STING ARREST

VANCOUVER. 'Bermuda Short' joint US-Canadian police sting nets 53, more expected to be arrested by Mounties.

More on this story here.

U.S. PRESSURES EX-PREZ OF NICARAGUA

MANAGUA. US may try ex-president for money laundering.

More on this story here.

DOMINICA FINANCES IN BAD SHAPE

Caribbean neighbors prop up Commonwealth with a loan.

More on this story here and here.

Two sentenced by US court in Dominica bank fraud case.

More on this story here.

U.S. BACKS DOWN ON MISTAKEN ASSET FREEZES

WASHINGTON. US yields to European pressure for more proof and an appeals procedure on alleged terror assets.

More on this story here.

OFFSHORE DEBATE MAY CAUSE CORPORATE TAX REFORMS

Someday firms may not have to go to Bermuda to escape the IRS.

More on this story here.

I.R.S. BANS LIFE INSURANCE TAX SAVINGS SCHEME

IRS nixes billions in hoped-for estate and gift tax savings.

More on this story here and here.

BANK JULIUS BAER LOWERS PROFITS

ZURICH. Leading Swiss private bank shows net profit drop.

More on this story here and here.

U.S. BANKS BEGIN FILING FinCEN SARs ONLINE

US banks will file realtime Online suspicious activity reports (SARs) with FinCEN, the US Treas. anti-money laundering unit.

More on this story here.

SOUTH AFRICAN TAXES KILL FOREIGN INVESTMENT

JOHANNESBURG. System drives away badly need offshore investors.

More on this story here.

AUSTRALIAN INVESTORS HIT BY OFFSHORE SCAMS

SYDNEY. Investors scammed out of A$500 million over 3 years.

More on this story here.

GOVERNMENT PLANS TO READ BRAIN WAVES

Airport security screeners may try to read the minds of airplane passengers by using electronic brain scanners.

More on this story here.

SWISS BANKER DEFENDS FINANCIAL SECRECY

ZURICH. Credit Suisse CEO says Swiss banking secrecy law is right.

More on this story here.

SWISS TURN OVER MONTESINOS CASH TO PERU

GENEVA: Swiss Government turns over US$77 million to Peru in cash alleged from corrupt arms deals by ex-head spy.

More on this story here and here.

E.U. DEMANDS COMMON FINANCIAL LAWS; U.K. SAYS NO

BRUSSELS: EU bureaucrats want uniformity for corporate, banking and financial laws. UK says this is a step backward for them.

More on this story here.

LIECHTENSTEIN CORPORATIONS

Minimal taxes, maximum asset protection.

More on this story here.

I.R.S. DEMANDS PRIVILEGED CLIENT RECORDS

WASHINGTON. IRS serves summons on banks, accounting firms, lawyers and financial advisors demanding privileged data they refuse to surrender about clients' tax avoidance and estate plans.

More on this story here.

CHINA AND KOREA PURSUE TAX EVASION

SHANGHAI, China. Tax collectors target the new rich.

More on this story here.

Korean tax collectors crack down on offshore tax evasion.

More on this story here.

ZIMBABWE LAND CONFISCATION ONLY THE BEGINNING

HARARE. White owned farms now ... oil companies and other businesses later to be confiscated under madman Mugabe.

More on this story here and here.

WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR NEW ZEALAND?

The Economist's post-election survey.

Read it here.

PGP ENCRYPTION SOFTWARE IS BACK

Phil Zimmermann's PGP, the popular encryption technology, is back in the hands of an independent company.

More on this story here.

All new PGP Corp.

Click here.

Europeans buy it here.

Click here.

E.U. BUREAUCRATS ATTACK PERSONAL PRIVACY

Demand year long retention of all e-mails, phone calls.

More on this story here.

CELEBRATE VICTORY, NOT DEFEAT

Just how should America remember September 11, 2001?

More on this story here.

BE ASHAMED OF THE GOVERNMENT

H.L. Mencken: "Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under."

More on this story here.

IRS TO GET MORE OFFSHORE CREDIT CARD RECORDS

MIAMI. MasterCard ordered to cough up records of offshore credit cards issued by banks in 30 countries to pursue alleged tax cheats.

More on this story here.

SOUTH PACIFIC NATIONS ASK OECD FOR HELP

HONG KONG. Leaders tell Paris-based bureaucracy they can't comply with the OECD's "harmful tax initiative" without financial assistance. Why not let them compete with low taxes and dispense with the foreign aid?

More on this story here.

SETBACK FOR JERSEY

LONDON. Now that the U.S. Treasury has endorsed a proposal similar to the EU's ill-conceived "Savings Tax Directive," hopes in Jersey that "regulatory arbitrage" might delay its implementation have been dashed.

More on this story here.

MORE NONSENSE FROM THE WASHINGTON POST ON CORPORATE EXPATRIATION

WASHINGTON. It's the Tax Code that encourages US corporations to re-domicile in Bermuda--not big business greed. Even after expatriation," they still pay US taxes on US profits.

More on this story here and here.

U.S. SABER RATTLING LEADS SAUDIS TO WITHDRAW BILLIONS FROM US

LONDON. Is the Middle East "smart money" shifting from dollars to euros?

More on this story here and here.

FLOODS DELAY GERMAN TAX CUTS

BERLIN. Chancelor Schröder's economic plans now in tatters -- tax increase ahead?

More on this story here and here.

CHINA MONITORS INTERNATIONAL MONEY FLOWS

SHANGHAI. New agency formed to halt capital flight.

More on this story here.

80% OF BRITISH VAT AUDITS IN ERROR

LONDON. Leaked study also reveals that nearly one fifth of the U.K. businesses audited for VAT compliance have failed.

More on this story here.

US BOOKSELLERS SUE DOJ

NEW YORK. Civil liberties groups and the American Booksellers Foundation file a Freedom of Information Act request to learn how the surveillance provisions of the USA-PATRIOT Act have been implemented.

More on this story here.

COMPUTER PRIVACY TOOL BYPASSED

ORANGE, CALIFORNIA. New device said to bypass "anonymizing" features of privacy software.

More on this story here.

WARN YOUR TEENAGER

ASPEN, COLO. DOJ set to prosecute individuals who illegally trade copyrighted music and video files using services such as "Morpheus." EU to follow suit?

More on this story here.

MORE GOVERNMENT DOUBLESPEAK

OAKLAND. New rules that supposedly protect medical privacy require national ID and for doctors to report all medical treatment (even self-paid!) into a centralized database.

More on this story here.
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