United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention

“The major money laundering cases coming to light in recent years share a common feature: criminal organizations are making wide use of the opportunities offered by financial havens and offshore centres to launder criminal assets, thereby creating roadblocks to criminal investigations. Financial havens offer an extensive array of facilities to the foreign investor unwilling to disclose the origin of his assets, from the registration of International Business Corporations (IBCs) or shell companies, to the services of a number of “offshore banks” which are not subject to control by regulatory authorities. The difficulties for law enforcement agents are amplified by the fact that, in many cases, financial havens enforce very strict financial secrecy…”