Financial Transparency Coalition

As governments hunt for tax evaders and financial fraudsters, a veil of secrecy is lifting

According to UBS's chairman, Kaspar Villiger, the bank's tax-evading American "clients are not just harmless victims. They knew what they wanted to evade." It's nice to see that the UBS chief is on the same page as the rest of the world on this point. However, according to Reuters, he also does not believe that "systematic tax evasion had been a problem in countries other than the United States." I find it very difficult to believe that he believes this.

In the lead up to the G20 meeting in London this past spring, people from all over Europe descended on the small island of Jersey to raise awareness of its role as a tax haven. Filmmaker Zoe Young has now turned her footage of the event into a great video called "Banking in the Shadows .. a Trip to Jersey." Check it out:

In March 2009, during the run-up to the G-20 Summit in London, activists from all over Europe visited the British Channel Island of Jersey to highlight the role of tax havens in the global crisis.