Offshore News: July 2008
25.07.2008 BMI Offshore Bank (BMIO) has announced that its offshore banking operations in Seychelles have been officially launched. BMIO is a joint venture between Bahrain-based BMI Bank and Seychelles-incorporated Nouvobanq. BMIO will be managed by BMI Bank and deal with offshore banking and private banking services. It will also provide access to trust and investment services for corporate and private customers who reside abroad.
Speaking about the launch, Andrew Bainbridge, Chief Executive Officer of BMI Bank said:
Initially, BMIO will offer transactional banking from current and call accounts, deposits and investments on different terms and Internet banking facilities. In the coming quarter, new products will be introduced. These will be debit and credit cards, trust business loan financing, and other investment products.
A license to operate from the Central Bank of Seychelles was received by BMIO in March 2008
10.07.2008 In June, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued the 19th Annual Report that summarizes advances made by the organization in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.
These include FATF policies on admission of new members and observers, its statements on the anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing risks posed in certain countries and areas, best practices for combating trade-based money laundering, report on national money laundering threat analysis strategies that helps countries develop threat assessments, as well as other important issues. Also, the 19th Annual Report contains evaluations of the anti-money laundering/ counter-terrorist financing systems of Canada, Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, the UAE, Qatar and Russia.
02.07.2008 Recently, the US, under the Bush administration, has decided to exclude North Korea from its state sponsors of terror list and to stop economic sanctions against it. On June 26, it was announced that North Korea will be removed from the blacklist within 45 days.
North Korea was included into this blacklist in January 1988, and, it should be noted that talks with the jurisdiction on removing from the terrorism list have lasted for at least 8 years. The country's presence in the list is seen as part of the price for a welcoming attitude to the nuclear disarmament negotiations about dismantling nuclear weapons programme.
