ABSTRACT
For the last 20 or so years, one of the principal strategies in fighting serious crime, particularly criminal activity that is motivated by economic gain, has been to attack the proceeds of crime through a number of legal devices. This chapter is devoted to the legal view on the offshore financial centres (OFCs) issues, analysed the offshore dimension in a general discussion of the international legal and regulatory framework in which the anti-money laundering policies are defined. It might be argued that the very presence of confiscature and anti-money laundering laws discourage criminal organisations from placing their wealth in the relevant jurisdiction, either as part of the laundering process or by way of investment. The possibility also exists, at least in some common law jurisdictions, of a conflict between the law pertaining to the protection of fiduciary interests and the offence of disclosing that an anti-money laundering investigation is imminent.
