To control money laundering it is essential to focus on the machinery launderers use and the people who help them use it. We noted that the basic principle of non-intervention should be applied to the machinery of the offshore financial world. These tools include international business corporations , bank secrecy which blocks inquiries from law enforcement agencies, trust laws which are designed to conceal and protect assets, and unregulated international banks and trust companies. The creation of these tools undermines and degrades the entire international legal system. We consider the action of the countries providing these tools as an intervention in the affairs of their neighbors and, as such, unacceptable.
Bank secrecy has a legitimate function.
Bank account information must be protected against intrusions by competitors, criminals seeking to identify targets, and curious private citizens. Each of us wants and need to have our affairs private. This has come about because bank data is now available globally in computer networks which support bank card operations and related credit cards. The data may be posted in a secrecy jurisdiction but may wind up in the hands of people with access to the system in a place far beyond the reach of the country offering secrecy. If information is disclosed improperly there may be no effective remedy.