Panama urged to be careful on change
One of the largest independent financial advisory firms, deVere Group said Panama should be commended for its "proactive approach" to boosting its effectiveness and credibility as an offshore financial centre.
It comes as the Central American country announces it's creating an ‘international panel of experts' to help improve its transparency in the offshore financial industry.
Chief executive of deVere group, Nigel Green made these comments following the leak of millions of documents from Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, claiming it helped some of its wealthy clients evade tax.
Green said, "most major offshore financial centres" have embraced the "new era of heightened transparency, regulation and cooperation", over the last several years. But the Panama papers case highlights that more work needs to be done in some areas of the financial system.
"I wholeheartedly champion Panama's pro-active approach to enhance its effectiveness and credibility as an international financial hub. However, it should not lose or devalue the legitimate financial privacy it offers," said Green.
"But let's be clear, there is an important distinction between financial privacy and financial secrecy", he said.
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