Masters, John L. --- "Offshore issues in policing financial crime" [2015] ELECD 1433; in Rider, Barry (ed), "Research Handbook on International Financial Crime" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015) 679

Book Title: Research Handbook on International Financial Crime

Editor(s): Rider, Barry

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781783475780

Section: Chapter 56

Section Title: Offshore issues in policing financial crime

Author(s): Masters, John L.

Number of pages: 12

Abstract/Description:

Issues and barriers regarding policing financial crime in offshore jurisdictions are at the core no different to those of non-offshore jurisdictions: they involve the delicate balancing of politics, resolve and law. The utility of this chapter in a handbook on financial crime dictates that, whilst formally acknowledging that there is always the underlying current of politics and resolve, focus must primarily be on the law. Whilst a handbook is designed to be practical, the usual formality that comes with academic publication has to be relaxed to a degree. Due to the nature and sensitivity of issues to be covered in this chapter, it will not be possible to provide citations for every proposition or assertion and the reader has to take a leap of faith in accepting the writer’s experience and reliability of source of information. Undoubtedly many readers will be able to relate such anecdotal evidence to their personal experiences. At the end of the day, it would have been a greater disservice not to have included the uncited examples. The title of this chapter reflects and to an extent encourages an “us and them” mentality. What does “offshore” mean? A person in the United Kingdom or the United States of America may conjure up a John Grisham style scenario of a tropical island in the Caribbean designed primarily to hide the illicit funds from crimes committed on home soil.