Financial Crime World

Montserrat’s Bank Secrecy and Transparency Under Scrutiny

Montserrat, a small island nation in the Caribbean, has been ranked 63rd out of 100 in terms of financial secrecy, according to a recent report. The jurisdiction still has a long way to go in achieving satisfactory financial transparency.

Financial Secrecy Score

The report gives Montserrat a score of 86%, indicating that the jurisdiction is not transparent enough in several key areas. The island nation accounts for less than 1% of the global market for offshore financial services, making it a small player compared to other secrecy jurisdictions.

Areas of Concern

The report highlights several areas where Montserrat falls short:

  • Beneficial Ownership: The jurisdiction does not adequately curtail banking secrecy, and companies are not required to disclose their beneficial owners or maintain accurate records of ownership.
  • Company Ownership: Companies in Montserrat are not required to disclose their ownership structures, making it difficult to track who owns them.
  • Tax Regulation: Montserrat’s tax laws do not require country-by-country financial reporting by listed companies, and the jurisdiction does not have a large taxpayer unit or use taxpayer identifiers effectively for analysis.

International Cooperation

Montserrat’s international cooperation in areas such as anti-money laundering and automatic information exchange is also lacking. The report notes that:

  • Automatic Information Exchange: While Montserrat participates fully in Automatic Information Exchange, it has no bilateral treaties providing for broad information exchange on all tax matters.
  • International Treaties: Montserrat has only partly ratified relevant international treaties relating to financial transparency.

Conclusion

The report concludes that Montserrat needs to take concrete steps to improve its financial transparency and cooperation with other countries to combat money laundering and tax evasion. By addressing these areas of concern, Montserrat can work towards achieving greater financial transparency and reducing its risk of being used for illicit activities.