Grenada's prime minister says he is determined to re-launch the island's offshore finance sector six years after a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme, according to the International Herald Tribune.
Prime Minister Tillman Thomas was quoted as saying that his government in the
Caribbean island is "prepared to take the necessary steps to make sure our compliance matches international standards".
Groups such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, based in
Paris, have called for a clampdown on international financial centres which they accuse of encouraging tax evasion. Defenders of such centres such as the US-based Cato Institute thinktank say these centres foster tax competition and hence lower worldwide tax rates, as well as provide shelter for people fleeing oppressive regimes.
Mr Thomas told the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force that such an action will allow
Grenada "to get involved in the financial sector in a legitimate way."
In 2002,
Grenada suspended its financial sector's operations after First International Bank of
Grenada collapsed and investors were cheated out of $170 million, the publication said.
The offshore bank took money from investors but never paid this back, leaving a trail of ruined retirements and even personal bankruptcies.
