Dickson Igwe. Photo: VINO

Or maybe the islands’ “developing status” is a kind of economic and social hurdle. Maybe even, the foreign journalist expects these countries to become “fully developed” first, before they are deemed suitable and acceptably qualified, to sit offshore finance businesses within their borders.

There is a superiority complex at play here. Certain countries are deemed more economically, culturally and socially acceptable to sit an offshore financial services industry, than others. Or, maybe, certain peoples are not socially, culturally, and technologically advanced enough to manage such a complex industry. Please!

That is the GREAT HYPOCRISY at the center of the whole offshore finance affair. Countries in the Northern Hemisphere that sit offshore financial services are deemed more worthy of sitting such an industry, than poorer jurisdictions to the south. Are offshore finance locations in the North as “put upon” as locations in the South? Of course not! And, why is it only now, that the matter of offshore services in the Caribbean is being put under the microscope, after decades of a robust offshore industry, with finance centers all over the world?

There is an attempt here, by the western press, to tar these islands in the sun as illegitimate. It is Goliath coming after David for no reason other than David is smaller in size and power. David appears vulnerable. He is fair game.

However, these alien investigators suffer from both amnesia and gross ignorance. The “investigative journalist” has forgotten that financial activities in so called off shore havens are driven by the global elite sitting in their own capitals. They should go after their own elites first. Of course today’s investigative journalist will not. He or she will not because he or she knows that the consequences for his bottom line will not be beneficial. So he looks for the weakest link in the chain. That is the cowardliness in the whole offshore affair.

The people who ultimately control offshore finance are the very men and women who drive the political and economic machinery of powerful nations. They also control the financial activities in places such as the City of London, Wall Street, Frankfurt, and even Peking, Moscow, and Riyadh. There would be no offshore financial jurisdiction without the collaboration of the super powerful and super wealthy, and their allies.

The financial choreography, the complex dance, between the wealthy, and offshore wealth management, is driven from the world’s global financial centers outwards, and towards small countries such as these Lesser Antilles. The offshore finance center and jurisdiction is the outback of global finance. It is effect, not cause.

The offshore financial centers, many sitting in the Caribbean, are jurisdictions that offer attractions to investors and investment bankers. These are attractions such as political stability, safety and security, agreeable climate, laid back freedom, privacy, an educated workforce, far distance from a prying and obsessive press, idyllic geography, and a legal and economic infrastructure that accommodates the privacy and personal security needs of the global investor, and the wealthy, who want to live in quietness.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to house one’s wealth on an offshore financial center. There are good reasons for this. The experts in the business can offer a laundry list.

In any event, it is very interesting that the global press are extremely aggressive, even bullying, when visiting these small paradise islands in search of the story that brings fame and glory. These “investigative writers” hope their questionable efforts will destroy the offshore financial industry once and for all. They will fail.

Why? For one, these foreign journalists fail to acknowledge that their own countries possess a much greater financial opaqueness which takes place in the esoteric and arcane environments of the bank’s financial boardroom, trading floor, and even the billionaire’s chateau in the European countryside.

The reason for that amnesia is simple. The western press has become a crucible of hypocrisy. The western press is not evenhanded. It is very much a part of the western social, economic, and political establishment. The western press has also become a bastion of liberalism and left wing politics. Political Correctness has already destroyed Europe’s security. It must not be allowed to creep into countries with their own unique cultures and value systems.

In fact, the ideas and opinions of modern western journalists are simple reflections of the opinions and interests of the wealthy owners and shareholders of newspapers and multi media. The super elites who run western media are a new billionaire class of internet entrepreneurs, who have every interest in maintaining the present global financial status quo.

The western media has simply become the voice of the western establishment. It is no longer the double edged sword it once appeared to be, bringing down a US President, and going after insider dealing on Wall Street with a chivalry and toughness that brought terror to unscrupulous traders and investment bankers. That aggressive integrity is no longer part of its culture. The western press has become acquiescent and toothless despite the billions it possesses in assets.

The global press dare not challenge the owners of their newspapers and media companies by fearless journalism. Many of the owners of the western multimedia complex have interests in offshore finance. That is the paradox at play. These journalists understand that the men and women who own and control the news machinery in their home countries are their paymasters. One slip of the pen, or any nuance against specific business interests, and they would be FIRED. The classic penetrating and cutting newsman no longer exists. Why? That is the million dollar question.

So the foreign journalist lacking in real courage or pedigree practices what all bullies excel at. He looks for the weak link in the global financial chain. And then proceeds to adopt criminal behaviour, such as digital hacking, and empty threats, to steal financial information, and upset the proverbial apple cart.

The lesson is simple for these islands. Not everyone is happy with the success of the Virgin Islands Offshore Finance Industry. So the envious and hateful use the excuse of investigative journalism to poke a long nose into the affairs of various financial companies in the country. There is consequently a need for even greater discretion by offshore jurisdictions, and greater ruthlessness, in adopting new protocols and methods of protecting its interests from those who wish to see its demise.

There is also a need to weigh every matter that may have consequences for the welfare of the offshore industry wisely. Most importantly, the [British] Virgin Islands must continue building its tourism and maritime industries through investment in the requisite infrastructure: land, sea, and air.

The need to train natives in maritime skills and related sciences should remain a top priority for all Virgin Islands leaders. The maritime industry promises to be a huge employer of youth labour in the future. It is also an opportunity for Virgin Islanders, Citizens, and Residents, to place valuable scientific and technological skills into incubation that will be greatly rewarding in the coming decades. Effective management of the maritime and tourism industries should create hundreds of new careers and jobs in the coming years.

The days when Virgin Islanders and Residents left school to work in financial services at huge salaries may be coming to an end as offshore finance becomes more globally competitive. The maritime industry will not offer those huge salaries. What it will offer are three things most people in the modern world would regard as highly valuable: a useful and marketable skill, a reasonably secure career, and a sustainable income.

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