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The fortunes in offshore banks
Dear Editor,
According to a recent BBC report, huge sums of money are hidden away in offshore banks. This was exposed by a German newspaper which got its hands on millions of secret documents dubbed ‘Paradise Papers.’
Interestingly, a number of key individuals and celebrities are named in the papers as having substantial deposits in offshore banks in the Caribbean islands of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Interestingly, the private estate of Queen Elizabeth was also named in the leaked papers.
The leaks came on the heels of a recent similar exposure dubbed the ‘Panama Papers’ which named several high ranking celebrities and politicians which included the wife of the Prime Minister of Iceland who was forced to resign after the information became public.
According to conservative estimates, the amount of cash held in offshore banks globally ran in the trillions of dollars and is equivalent to the combined GDP of Britain, France and Japan!
These secret transactions are protected from taxes in their respective jurisdictions and even though they may not be illegal, it certainly raises some serious questions of morality especially when seen against the background of growing inequality and widespread poverty.
According to the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, there are enough financial resources in the world to eliminate poverty but much of it is hidden in offshore banking, speculative capital markets, money laundering and capital flights not to mention the billions that are consumed annually to satisfy the extravagant lifestyles of the rich and the famous.
Credit must be given to the international media, including the BBC, for the investigative role played in exposing these ‘secret’ financial transactions and putting them in the public domain.
Hydar Ally
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