On Sun, 8 Feb 1998, William Kirk wrote:
> A few years ago there was a TV programme that covered this theme. It was
> given that six tenth's of all the money in the world was held in three
> Caribbean islands, all of them British dependencies or former colonies.
> Since the islands gave a refuge to gangster money, the US was determined
> to end the free dealing; at the time most of the money was handled in
> suitcases. With the coming of electronic money new tactics had to be
> devised, and there were or are several departments in the US dealing with
> the problem. The commentator asked one official why nothing significant
> had happened, and suggested to him why not take the matter to higher
> levels in the government. The official replied it was at the highest
> level and always had been. He then added that the President (R. R.) had
> asked for help from handbag lady, but rather than the process speeding
> up, the official said since the discussion on the matter between the two
> heads of state, it had then 'proceeded at a snail's pace'.
> When we see the way the gangster of late, the late R. Maxwell, and how he
> had a clear run to accumulate hundreds of millions, leaving millions of
> people without pensions, it makes you wonder. He is not the only one. The
> department in the UK that deals with serious crime or gangsterism does
> not do al all well, and it is not through lack of effort. Trailing
> electronic money is a nightmare; to regulate it in a way that prevents
> gangsterism hinders 'free trade'.
> If money systems were made smaller, and were based on the exchange of
> goods, then I tend to think the problem would be reduced. Any comments on
> the fragmentation issue?
>
> William Kirk.
>
Of course I hardly endorse the money laundering practices that you
condemn, but there is something else worth considering. Over the last
couple of decades, a large number of insurgent movements have benefited
from their ability to conceal and transfer large sums of money. (Sendero
Luminoso, for example, had some $20-30 million stashed away in Swiss
accounts.) Centralising information may mildly inconvenience the
gangsters and large-scale tax evaders, but it also may have unintended
negative consequences for people who wish to see a proliferation of
antisystemic activity in coming years. Revolution is not cheap. I can
think of little more beneficial to the powers that be than to be able to
bankrupt opposing organisations with a single keystroke. Let us not cut
off our nose to spite our face....
Regards,
--AKW
===============================================================================
Adam K. Webb
Department of Politics
Princeton University
Princeton NJ 08544 USA
609-258-9028
http://www.princeton.edu/~akwebb