FINANCIAL REGULATION IN JERSEY, GUERNSEY AND THE ISLE OF MAN

Early day motion 1148, tabled 25 March 1998 by Austin Mitchell (Labour). Signed by 62 members.

That this House welcomes the Government's current and long overdue review of the financial legislation and regulatory systems in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man; looks forward to the strengthening of regulation and international regulatory co-operation by the thorough examination of the regulation of banking, insurance and financial services and the registering of companies with a view to detecting, deterring, investigating and punishing financial crime, including money laundering and fiscal offences, particularly those with an international dimension; suggests that any review should look into the attempts by United Kingdom accountancy firms to buy legislation in Jersey to set up as offshore limited liability partnerships while continuing to operate on the mainland, and examine in detail the unhealthy overlap between the worlds of business interests, media control and legislators in such dependencies which enables inadequate legislation to pass virtually unopposed; and hopes that action resulting from the review will at long last rid the islands of their image as havens for funny money, for money launderers, for tax and liability avoidance and those lawyers and accountants who facilitate such actions, thereby improving both the islands' standards and the reputation of the United Kingdom.

Signatures by party: Labour 53, Liberal Democrat 5, Labour/Co-operative 4.