The Jerusalem Post, Internet
Business Article, July 10th, 2000:
Excerpt:
"Last
month's Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development Financial Action Task Force report
identified Israel as a center for financial crime
and money laundering."
|
G-7 may
sanction Israel over money laundering
By Tal
Muscal
JERUSALEM (July 10) - Israel
may be sanctioned by the G-7 nations over non-enforcement of
money-laundering laws, the organization stated over the
weekend.
In a move to stop international money
laundering, the finance ministers of the US, Canada, UK, France,
Italy, Germany, and Japan threatened to advise private banks to
blacklist and sanction 15 countries, including Israel.
Meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, the G-7
ministers agreed on a series of tough statements aimed at bringing an
end to non-cooperation by nations and territories. Sanctions and
blacklisting would be the first step in aggressively combating dirty
money and cracking down on violators.
Last month's Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development Financial Action Task Force
report identified Israel as a center for financial crime and money
laundering. Legislation has been brought before the US Congress to
ban financial dealings with countries cited in the report.
"We are following up recent listings
of jurisdictions with flawed money-laundering regimes," said US
Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.
The listed countries, in addition to
Israel, are: the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Panama, Dominica, St.
Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Cook Islands,
the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, the Philippines, Russia,
Liechtenstein, and Lebanon.
Also discussed by the G-7 was linking
support for loans from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank
with the fight against lax money-laundering laws by the
"non-cooperative" nations.
"We've named, we've shamed, and we're
taking measures to fight it," saida French Finance Minister Laurent
Fabius about the countries that fail to comply with OECD guidelines
for disclosure, enforcement, and cooperation in eliminating harmful
tax practices.
Six countries and territories have
promised to comply with financial regulations to end money laundering
by the end 2005: Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Malta,
Mauritius, and San Marino.
The task force is made up of 26 OECD
members, plus the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation
Council.
