Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-23-Speech-3-405"
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"en.20070523.26.3-405"2
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"Madam President, I congratulate Mr Newton Dunn on his excellent report. In order to make this report and the level of debate associated with it even more practically useful and perhaps more controversial, I would like to take the opportunity, to address one issue which, although dealt with in the report and referred to by the Commissioner, in my view needs to be further elaborated upon.
I refer to the issue of money laundering. Money laundering constitutes the oxygen supply to organised crime. Legitimising crime profits is essential for crime barons to survive and expand their illegal activities. I question whether the EU, despite its frequent criticism of money laundering, is in fact doing very much to combat it.
My thesis is demonstrated by the following example. A vast amount of money laundering is taking place through institutions based and functioning in areas such as the Channel Islands, in particular Guernsey and Jersey. These islands have a rather peculiar status as regards their relation to the EU. The British Government, although fully aware of the money laundering problem associated with these islands, conveniently turns a blind eye to such activities under the pretext that these areas enjoy a certain degree of autonomy from British sovereignty. The same applies to institutions based on other British overseas territories or British Crown dependencies. Such territories are the Isle of Man and the British Virgin Islands. I note that in 2000 KPMG reported that the British Virgin Islands had 41% of the world’s tax-haven-seeking offshore companies.
I call upon the Commission to make a statement in relation to the aforementioned money laundering activities in British-related territories and to declare before us what action it intends to take, in particular with regard to the British Government, in order to halt the money laundering legitimacy cover-up currently afforded to the areas I have mentioned."@en1
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