...Liechtenstein is on the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development's blacklist of “unco-operative tax havens” along with the small European nations of Andorra and Monaco. ...
NAME/SYMBOL CHANGES
DL Date Date Old Symbol/Name New Symbol/Name 5/27/2008 5/28/2008 WRCI Worldcast Interactive Inc Common Stock ADCC Andorra Capital Corp Common Stock
Posted by: Rocketred Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 9:37:54 PM In reply to: None Post # of 176707
BCSC orders cease-trade in Liechtenstein bank
WENDY STUECK AND PAUL WALDIE Tuesday, May 27, 2008
VANCOUVER, TORONTO — A British Columbia Securities Commission panel has slapped a permanent cease-trade order on a Liechtenstein bank that traded millions of dollars worth of securities through accounts at 11 B.C. investment dealers, saying the banking secrecy laws of a foreign country cannot serve as a shield against regulation.
The order, released Tuesday, concerns $165-million worth of trades that took place in 2006 and 2007. It is the latest in a series of critical arrows aimed at Liechtenstein, a landlocked country in western Europe that prides itself on its bank secrecy.
In its decision, the three-person BCSC panel acknowledged that the order may have limited effect, as wrongdoers – if there are any – may have moved on.
The commission has been trying since July, 2007, to pin down the people behind the suspicious trades, but hit a brick wall when the bank said Liechtenstein's banking secrecy laws hampered its ability to provide such information.
A permanent cease-trade order “will not assist in revealing the identities of the beneficial owners,” the panel said, but “it will at least forestall the use of Hypo as a conduit for any further suspicious trading.”
Over a 10-month period that ended in August of 2007, Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank (Liechtenstein) AG traded about 463 million shares through accounts at 11 B.C. dealers, including Blackmont Capital Inc., Canaccord Capital Corp. and Union Securities Ltd.
More than 90 per cent of the trades involved stocks listed on the loosely-regulated Pink Sheets or Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board markets in the United States and some involved stocks touted in e-mail spam campaigns.
Because of difficulties in gathering evidence, there is no proof that manipulation actually occurred, but the high volume is consistent with patterns present in abusive trading schemes in the U.S., the panel said. Given the uncertainty over the trades, a permanent cease-trade order against the bank is in the public interest, it concluded.
Liechtenstein is on the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development's blacklist of “unco-operative tax havens” along with the small European nations of Andorra and Monaco.
This year, officials in nine countries, including Canada, launched investigations into the role Liechtenstein banks have played as tax havens. The probes began after Heinrich Kieber, a former employee at the country's largest bank, LGT Group, took a compact disc full of client information in 2002. The discs contained information on 1,400 clients and was allegedly sold last year to the German police for €5-million ($7.8-million). Since then, roughly 300 Germans have been hit with tax-evasion charges. Germany has also shared the information with several other countries.
Officials with the Canada Revenue Agency have said there are 100 Canadians on the list, but have not provided any additional information.
The Internal Revenue Agency in the U.S. recently indicted a Liechtenstein consultant, alleging he helped rich U.S. clients avoid paying taxes by opening secret bank accounts, destroying documents and filing false tax returns. One client allegedly avoided paying taxes on $200-million (U.S.) in assets.
Officials in Liechtenstein have defended the banking practices and insisted that the country has strong regulations to fight money laundering and terrorism funding.
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