Offshore financial centers and the fight against money laundering

the case of the Bahamas

Authors

  • Brenda Araujo Fontana Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais
  • Gabriel Ribeiro Petribu Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais
  • Pedro Aluízio Resende Leão Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais

Abstract

Beginning in the 1980s, neoliberal measures were widely adopted by Latin American governments. The liberalization of international capital flows, specifically financial account flows, during the 1970s and 1980s, facilitated capital movements, with particularly flexible or nonexistent fiscal requirements. It has also created new opportunities for illicit activities in the financial system. In the late 1980s, international discussions and initiatives to end the obscurity of these movements began. In this context, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is created and consolidated as the leading anti-money laundering organization, playing a key role in coordinating international actions directed at offshore financial centers, many of them located in the Caribbean region. This paper aims to explain the process of behavioral adaptation of the Bahamas to these norms and their economic consequences. To this end, it applies practice tracing to identify the main actors, mechanisms and motivations involved in the emergence of a norm.

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Author Biographies

Gabriel Ribeiro Petribu, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais

Graduated in International Relations at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Minas Gerais (PUC Minas).

Pedro Aluízio Resende Leão, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais

Graduated in International Relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC Minas).

Published

2020-06-19

How to Cite

Fontana, B. A., Ribeiro Petribu, G. ., & Aluízio Resende Leão, P. (2020). Offshore financial centers and the fight against money laundering: the case of the Bahamas. Fronteira: Revista De iniciação científica Em Relações Internacionais, 19(37), 140–158. Retrieved from https://periodicos.pucminas.br/fronteira/article/view/21434