The French Republic has removed eleven sovereign jurisdictions from its closely-watched list of offshore tax and financial havens. Within the Central American region, Costa Rica, Belize and Panama have been removed from the list, although the Finance Minister of the French Republic warned that the eleven nations will still be monitored for loopholes that may attract unscrupulous business.

One Central American neighbor was actually added to the French list: Guatemala.

French Finance Minister Valérie Pécresse indicated that going back on the black list is easy. Staying out of the list requires vigilance and adherence to guidelines, rules and good practices.

The wave of international initiatives to combat offshore tax and financial havens has been building momentum since 2009, one year into the global financial crisis. France stands out as a nation that has implemented 41 measures designed to increased financial transparency and avoid money laundering or the use of financial institutions for illicit purposes.

Costa Rica has been working diligently on being removed from many of the lists in which our country appears as an offshore tax and financial haven, and thus the announcement by the French Finance Minister is encouraging. In the case of Panama, the removal from the list is even more significant, particularly since Madame Pécresse used our neighbor to the south as an example of a non-compliant nation in terms of financial transparency last year.

Source: La Fragua (Costa Rica)