Global Money, Sovereignty, and Privacy
POLICY FORUMFriday, October 6, 2000
11:00 a.m.
Featuring Bradley Jansen, Legislative Director for banking and monetary affairs Rep. Ron Paul's office; Adrian Day, Editor, Adrian Day's Global Analyst; Bill Tucker, former Section Chief, Organized Crime/Narcotics division, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar, Ambassador of Bahrain.
The Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
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Read the event transcript (PDF, 63 pp, 114 kb)
In the face of overwhelming public opposition, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation failed last year to implement a "know your customer" rule that would have required U.S. banks to closely monitor their customers' banking habits. Now Congress is considering applying the same principles to foreign countries, institutions, and transactions. The "International Counter-Money Laundering Act" would give the Treasury Department wide latitude to impose restrictions on foreign banks, both those that refuse to adopt stringent financial reporting standards and those located in jurisdictions that offer "unfair" tax or regulatory advantages. Supporters of the measure argue that it is needed to combat increasingly sophisticated international criminals. Opponents say it ignores the legitimate privacy concerns of law-abiding customers, violates the sovereignty of small countries, and opens the door to domestic privacy abuses. Please join us for an interesting discussion of privacy in the global financial system.