Financial Transparency Coalition

An influential American Senator has urged US President Barack Obama to push the G20 nations to bar tax haven banks from participating in the global financial system if they refuse to cooperate with investigations of tax evasion.

A few days ago we blogged on an article in Singapore's Straits Times which crowed about how the island-state is benefiting from the crackdown on tax evasion by governments in North America and Europe. Our blog triggered an exchange with a practitioner who disputes our assessment that Singapore provides:

"strict banking secrecy laws, no register of trusts and foundations, neither company accounts nor company ownership details are placed on public record. On the regulatory side, the island-state is not rated by the...