Where are we and where are we going in the offshore context: The Cayman Islands experience

Supporting the international fight against drug trafficking and serious crime is hard to contest; it is like being in favour of family values. Likewise, therefore, the fight against money laundering, ie burying or disguising the financial proceeds of those activities, including helping someone else to do so. The real and potential long‐term damage to societies, honest government, the rule of law and sound economies is now well recognised. But, on closer inspection, the route mapped out by the international community to achieve the laudable goal of putting serious criminals (and those who assist them) out of business by attacking the financial jugular causes a number of political, economic and legal tensions.