There are still many the vast majority isn't aware of.
- Vanuatu
- Samoa
- Brunei-Darussalam
- St. Lucia
Topping the Financial Secrecy Index?s most secretive banking jurisdictions is Samoa. As with some of the other offshore bank jurisdictions on this list, Samoa is a tiny player in the offshore world, accounting for less than one percent of the global market. Complaints against Samoa include its lack of cooperation with other countries on money laundering and criminal issues, as well as its failure to exchange tax details with other governments. Samoa also does not require corporation data to be listed online for public consumption.
While these jurisdictions may not make the most sense for individual depositors or businesses, they do offer the world?s highest levels of bank secrecy. And while we believe
offshore banking is ultimately about international diversification rather than law-breaking, it?s nice to see some countries still value
privacy. After all, the desire for secrecy does not a criminal make, nor does transparency prevent criminality.
Of course, the Financial Secrecy Index lists none other than the United States ? the chief proponent of ending tax havens ? as the sixth largest
tax haven by ?global weight? (secrecy multiplied by its role in the global
marketplace). Somewhere out there is a large pot waiting to meet a kettle.